Kevin Durant is widely considered one of the purest scorers in the history of basketball, ranking eighth on the all-time time points leaderboard. Despite his immense talent, his career has been among the most dissected and disrespected ever since his move to the Golden State Warriors ahead of the 2016-17 season.
While we are in the midst of the eighth postseason since the move – and the fifth since he left Golden State – it has continued to hover over his accomplishments in the eyes of many. Furthermore, his postseason shortcomings since his departure have led others to criticize his decision to leave, as well. Colin Cowherd recently revealed that he believes the Phoenix Suns superstar is becoming irrelevant. Speaking on The Herd, he stated:
His skill set should put him in the top one or two in the last decade and frankly he’s getting lost. [Nikola] Jokic looks much better historically. Steph [Curry] is really the soul of the Warriors, winning titles before and during and after [Durant’s tenure]. Anthony Davis now is a more consistent player on both ends. Giannis [Antetokounmpo] has more regular season MVPs. As I’m watching Phoenix get rolled, Kevin Durant is becoming increasingly irrelevant.
Check out Colin Cowherd’s full comments on Kevin Durant below:
While all of the players listed by Cowherd are all-time great players, it is difficult to support the notion that Durant is irrelevant or somehow lost in the mix. Jokic and Antetokounmpo have passed him in MVPs, however, neither player, or Anthony Davis, has matched the 14-time All-Star’s two rings and two NBA Finals MVP awards. In fact, LeBron James is the only active player with more NBA Finals MVPs. Regardless of how fans view his rings in the present, that is unlikely to be the case when future generations look back on his legacy.
Durant had another big season in his 17th season in the league. He averaged 27.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 52.3% from the field, 41.3% from three-point range and 85.6% from the free-throw line.
Draymond Green believes Kevin Durant should guard Anthony Edwards
The Phoenix Suns suffered a 120-95 blowout loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in their postseason opener. Anthony Edwards led the way for Minnesota, finishing with 33 points, nine rebounds, six assists and two steals while shooting 14-24 from the field and 4-8 from three-point range. Draymond Green, who played alongside Kevin Durant for three seasons, believes his former teammate should guard the rising star.
Speaking on his self-titled podcast, the 2016-17 Defensive Player of the Year stated:
What the Phoenix Suns are going to have to do is they’re going to have to play KD on Anthony Edwards the entire series. That has to be his matchup. And what Phoenix has to do is they have to rely on Devin Booker, Bradley Beal – Grayson Allen, you’re going to have to hit some shots – and they’re going to have to rely on those guys to carry the load offensively. Because to ask Kevin to go try to lock up Anthony Edwards and then go carry the load on the offensive end, he’s in year [17], it ain’t happening every night.
Check out Draymond Green’s comments on Kevin Durant below:
Durant had a strong offensive showing in Game 1, finishing with 31 points while shooting 11-17 from the field and 2-2 from three-point range. Meanwhile, Booker, Beal and Allen combined to score just 37 points while shooting 11-29 from the field and 3-12 from three-point range. If the two-time NBA champion is forced to guard Edwards, Phoenix’s other players cannot continue to struggle.
