As I've mentioned many times before, I'm obsessed with player legacies across sports. I'm convinced that Super Bowl XLIX clinched Tom Brady's status as greatest QB ever. I know for a fact that Derek Jeter is overrated by every fan who says he's one of the best 10 baseball players ever just because he won five World Series. And for me, none of Karl Malone's 36,928 career points matter as much as the two he left on the table when he missed two free throws in the final moments of Game 1 of the 1997 NBA Finals. On the flip side, the shot that Michael Jordan hit to win that game is an example of what made him the greatest to ever play. Stuff like that is what brings me back year after year.
And that's why Kevin Durant's decision to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder to form a super team on the Golden State Warriors really bothered me. Like REALLY bothered me. To me, there's nothing as respectable as being the best guy on a championship team, the guy who leads others by example and lifts everyone's game until they reach the promised land.
We've always known that KD had that type of ability. He's a completely unique talent. He was the youngest scoring champion in league history. He's seven feet tall with the athleticism and ball handling ability of a guard and he can pull up from 30 feet. Nobody in the NBA has ever been quite like him. He's like George Gervin if the Iceman was seven feet tall and could shoot from anywhere.
This playoffs, KD unlocked the two-way ability he's hinted at since his stint at Texas. He's always been an unbelievable scorer, but in the series against the Spurs and Warriors, we saw Durant become a versatile force, scoring, distributing, and using his once-in-a-generation physical tools to guard every position defensively. He would switch out onto Stephen Curry, force Curry to give it up, then recover to stuff a Warrior at the rim.
There was one play in Game 4 against Golden State that has become a bit of an internet sensation among NBA nerds. Durant switched onto Curry up top, contained him, and forced a pass to the right wing. As Curry set a screen for Shaun Livingston, Durant switched with Andre Roberson onto Livingston cutting to the basket. The ball went to the corner and then down low to Draymond Green, who was able to muscle Russell Westbrook out of the way and moved to the rim. Durant rotated over, jumped to force Green to drop it off to Livingston. Durant somehow lands, and immediately lifts off of two feet to stuff Livingston at the rim. It was an incredible display of athletic fluidity by a guy with all the tools to be the best player in the league on both sides of the ball.
And now he's joining the team that just set the record for wins in a regular season. A team that, up until they went up against Durant's Thunder, looked unstoppable without Durant. Don't compare this to LeBron James' Decision in 2010. The Heat had to completely dismantle their roster just to put two other really good players around LeBron. The Heat won 47 games the year before LeBron went there. The Warriors won 73 games last year, and don't have to destroy their team as much as the Heat did that first year with LeBron.
I'm just really disappointed that Durant copped out like that. And not just because my Celtics were apparently his second choice. We saw that he could be the best player on a championship-caliber team. I want Durant to become that guy, but now I feel like whatever he wins is tainted by the fact that he had to join an all-time team to do it.
The only way that Durant could salvage this and maintain the possibility of being a top ten player all time is if he takes control of this Warriors team, becomes their best player and leader, and leads them to four or five straight titles. And he has to be the go-to guy, the leader by example for all of them. LeBron had to take control of the Heat to push aside the narrative that he was too weak to win one of his own accord. Durant has to do more because he's joining such a great team.
To me, narrative is everything in sports, especially in basketball. Bill Russell was better than Wilt Chamberlain because he was all about winning and Wilt was all about stats, which showed up in their head to head record. Michael Jordan is the greatest ever because he constantly came through on the biggest stage when he needed to most. Magic Johnson solidified himself as a top-five guy with the killer baby hook to go up 3-1 on my Celtics in 1987. Until Durant does something incredible with the Warriors, like being Finals MVP for the only four-peat by a non-Celtics team, he won't be able to cast aside the narrative that he didn't earn his place among the greats. At least not in my mind.
And that's why Kevin Durant's decision to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder to form a super team on the Golden State Warriors really bothered me. Like REALLY bothered me. To me, there's nothing as respectable as being the best guy on a championship team, the guy who leads others by example and lifts everyone's game until they reach the promised land.
We've always known that KD had that type of ability. He's a completely unique talent. He was the youngest scoring champion in league history. He's seven feet tall with the athleticism and ball handling ability of a guard and he can pull up from 30 feet. Nobody in the NBA has ever been quite like him. He's like George Gervin if the Iceman was seven feet tall and could shoot from anywhere.
This playoffs, KD unlocked the two-way ability he's hinted at since his stint at Texas. He's always been an unbelievable scorer, but in the series against the Spurs and Warriors, we saw Durant become a versatile force, scoring, distributing, and using his once-in-a-generation physical tools to guard every position defensively. He would switch out onto Stephen Curry, force Curry to give it up, then recover to stuff a Warrior at the rim.
There was one play in Game 4 against Golden State that has become a bit of an internet sensation among NBA nerds. Durant switched onto Curry up top, contained him, and forced a pass to the right wing. As Curry set a screen for Shaun Livingston, Durant switched with Andre Roberson onto Livingston cutting to the basket. The ball went to the corner and then down low to Draymond Green, who was able to muscle Russell Westbrook out of the way and moved to the rim. Durant rotated over, jumped to force Green to drop it off to Livingston. Durant somehow lands, and immediately lifts off of two feet to stuff Livingston at the rim. It was an incredible display of athletic fluidity by a guy with all the tools to be the best player in the league on both sides of the ball.
And now he's joining the team that just set the record for wins in a regular season. A team that, up until they went up against Durant's Thunder, looked unstoppable without Durant. Don't compare this to LeBron James' Decision in 2010. The Heat had to completely dismantle their roster just to put two other really good players around LeBron. The Heat won 47 games the year before LeBron went there. The Warriors won 73 games last year, and don't have to destroy their team as much as the Heat did that first year with LeBron.
I'm just really disappointed that Durant copped out like that. And not just because my Celtics were apparently his second choice. We saw that he could be the best player on a championship-caliber team. I want Durant to become that guy, but now I feel like whatever he wins is tainted by the fact that he had to join an all-time team to do it.
The only way that Durant could salvage this and maintain the possibility of being a top ten player all time is if he takes control of this Warriors team, becomes their best player and leader, and leads them to four or five straight titles. And he has to be the go-to guy, the leader by example for all of them. LeBron had to take control of the Heat to push aside the narrative that he was too weak to win one of his own accord. Durant has to do more because he's joining such a great team.
To me, narrative is everything in sports, especially in basketball. Bill Russell was better than Wilt Chamberlain because he was all about winning and Wilt was all about stats, which showed up in their head to head record. Michael Jordan is the greatest ever because he constantly came through on the biggest stage when he needed to most. Magic Johnson solidified himself as a top-five guy with the killer baby hook to go up 3-1 on my Celtics in 1987. Until Durant does something incredible with the Warriors, like being Finals MVP for the only four-peat by a non-Celtics team, he won't be able to cast aside the narrative that he didn't earn his place among the greats. At least not in my mind.
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