There’s no doubt that Kevin Durant has led a legendary career in the NBA. The Suns superstar is not only an a two-time champion, but he’s also an MVP winner, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, and a four-time scoring leader. When the time comes, the veteran forward will definitely be remembered as one of the greats of our generation and considered a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer.
However, is his legacy greater than we think? In a recent conversation with the press, he suggested that there’s only one reason why he isn’t in the GOAT conversation.
“Because I went to the Warriors,” he first said, as his decision to join Golden State was among the most controversial free-agent choices ever. “Why shouldn’t I be in that? That’s the question you should ask. Why not? What haven’t I done?”
Durant’s question comes after scoring 40 points in Phoenix’s 117-110 victory against Indiana this Sunday night. Not only was it their fifth-straight win, but all the second match in a row that the All-Star trio also comprised by Devin Booker and Bradley Beal play together.
“I felt like they played us straight up,” Durant said after the Big 3 combined for 91 points. “And when teams do that, we’re going to be aggressive.”
Fortunately for the Arizona franchise, they’ve finally enjoyed a healthy roster in the past couple of weeks, and it’s no coincidence that the squad is in the middle of a five-game winning streak.
“It’s the definition of pick your poison,” Booker said. “All of us coming in with an aggressive mindset, it’ll be hard to stop us. Especially late game with the spacing out there.”
While Devin dropped 26 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists, Beal hit 25 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists against the Pacers.
Durant becomes only the 14th player to ever score 40+ points without a single free throw attempt
While the Pacers took on a 11-0 run to lead the game 105-103 after Buddy Hield’s 3-pointer with 3:20 left, Durant responded again with another dagger from beyond the arc. Rival coach Rick Carlisle considers KD a very difficult player to contain.
“He’s a very unusual problem,” the Indiana trainer said of Durant. “I don’t know where he’ll be in all-time scoring when he’s done, but he’ll be way up there. If he continues to be healthy, which, there appears to be no reason why he wouldn’t, he’ll be up in the top five, for sure, I would think. I thought we fought him hard and had some really good possessions on him. But his ability to just off the dribble rise up and get complete clearance is special.”
Kevin Durant is the 14th player in NBA history to score 40+ points without attempting a FT. pic.twitter.com/xT8x6zxSu7
— StatMamba (@StatMamba) January 22, 2024
Both Aaron Nesmith and newcomer Pascal Siakam spent time guarding the veteran forward during the game, and believe that their efforts were positive. Their excuse was that Durant is able to hit these shots even when well-guarded.
“I think he made tough shots,” the former Raptors star said. “That’s just what he does. I think Aaron did a good job on him, solid job. He made some tough shots. Sometimes it goes like that for those type of players. You just have to make it tough on him.”
