Kevin Durant became the ultimate basketball player, like him or not

I had a year ahead of Kevin Durant at the University of Texas when he arrived in Austin in 2006. The world was different then. Social media had just started: Facebook was still reserved for students; Twitter had just started; Instagram did not exist. During his arrival on campus, Durant was not as famous as Zion Williamson would be in Durham 12 years later. In Austin, few people were interested enough in basketball to learn about new recruits. The Longhorns had just won the BCS championship. The big debate on campus was whether Colt McCoy could replace Vince Young.

I had to convince my friends to take the 15 minute walk to the campus until the cavernous Frank Erwin Center. Many fans did not attend the non-conference games against teams like Chicago State and Nicholls State in November and December. You can buy a ticket for $ 5, enter the almost empty lower bowl of the stadium and sit a few rows behind Durant on the Texas bench. It was like watching the Beatles learn to play together in half-empty bars in Germany, years before they returned to England. During the last time of his life, Durant could be a relatively normal type.

His talent could not remain hidden for long. The basic contours of the player that he is today were already in place. Durant looked like half a meter with athletics, ball handling and shooting ability of a goalkeeper. NCAA defenders could do nothing to stop him. The crowds began to rise after the beginning of the new year. It was obvious that something was happening special. There was a rumor around the basketball program in Texas that had not been there since, even when they were no. 1 team ranked in the country a few years later. Everyone wants a piece of superstar.

The most legendary game of his career in Texas took place in early March at Allen Fieldhouse in Kansas. The land is named after James Naismith, who trained in Kansas a few years after inventing the sport. Durant seemed to have the chance to play in one of the basketball cathedrals. He was as stuck as it had been all season. There was no movement lost: his shots did not touch the edge. He had 25 points in the first half, the most goals scored by a player since Wilt Chamberlain. During the second period, Durant was forced to leave the match due to a sprained ankle, which only added to the legend. Who knows how much he would have scored there had not been hurt? 50? 60? Jayhawk fans cheered him on his return.

"He is arguably the best player to play at Allen Fieldhouse for generations," said Kansas head coach Bill Self at the school newspaper in an oral story of the game. "Even Danny Manning [an assistant coach at the time] was on the bench saying, "He's a bad man. He's the meanest man to play here, and that's what Danny said, playing a lot of important games here. "

Durant should never have been to the university. He was part of the first class of high school students who could not access the NBA directly, and he set a standard that few players who followed could meet. Durant, Anthony Davis and now Zion are the only freshmen to win the Naismith Award. Texas lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament during Durant's season in Austin, but that could not change his legacy. We all knew we were lucky to have a player like him for a season. It was obvious that he would do great things in the NBA. The amazing thing about following Durant to the next level is how much he has improved.

During it's turned into a hybrid of all the great players that preceded it. Beginner as a beginner goalie, he won the NBA Advanced Player title as the center of the small ball after playing at least 30 pounds of muscle to a once-lamentably lean body. Durant now combines the size of the NBA's greatest men with the full set of his best guards. He can do anything on a basketball court at a high level. He can create his own dribbling and pole shooting, finish in traffic, perform pick-and-roll, shoot moves anywhere on the ground, move the ball and set up his teammates, bounce , protect the rim, and defend the five positions on the ground. He became the ultimate basketball player.

Durant made his biggest jump when he signed with the Warriors. The goal was more than winning championships. Golden State offered him the opportunity to earn a master's degree in basketball, like Miami for LeBron James. Durant had stopped growing at the end of his time with the Thunder. Oklahoma City played a simplistic basketball game, surrounding Durant and Russell Westbrook with defensive players such as Andre Roberson, and relying on their two stars to carry them to the offensive. The ball did not move much and there was rarely enough shot around the two. Durant constantly insulated against two and three defenders. It was still Texas.

Things are different in Golden State, where Durant has added something new to his game every season. He became more comfortable traveling without a ball in Year 1, moving from the 59th percentile of league scorers worldwide in his final season with the Thunder at the 84th percentile with the Warriors, according to figures from followed by Synergy Sports. . He became a better defenseman in the second year, averaging 1.8 blocks per game on average in his career, and even getting a bit of consideration for the defensive player of the year. And he became a better playmaker in third year, averaging 5.9 career assists per game. He even got more help than Steph Curry this season.

This is an incredible change from his days at university, where he operated mostly by instinct. Durant has not changed physically in the last 13 years. His sense of the game has grown by leaps and bounds. He has averaged only 1.3 assists per game in Texas. He rarely passed the ball and did not see the ground well. He looked much more like Carmelo Anthony than LeBron. Durant could score at will from a very young age. He had to learn to take advantage of this ability to improve his teammates. He can now play as a legitimate striker, and he orchestrated Golden State's long-range attack this season when Curry and Draymond Green were injured.

Durant has always had a goal in mind. While LeBron continued his career in pursuit of Michael Jordan, Durant spent his career chasing the player in front of him. When Durant was a rookie, LeBron was in his fifth NBA season. He had just finished a year when he had almost taken the Cavs to the finals. During every step Durant took, LeBron had already been there. When Durant made the NBA finals for the first time in 2012, LeBron was waiting for him. The Thunder lost to the Heat in five games, revealing holes in Durant's match. He could score with LeBron, but he was not as good a playmaker or defensive player. James proposed a plan for Durant at each stage.

Durant has nothing left to do add at his game; it can only refine what is arguably the most complete skill set to date. He is a new seven foot guy who does things we have never seen before. In the history of the NBA, there are only four seasons in which a player has averaged more than five attempts of 3 points per game, five assists per game and one block per game. Durant has three. (LeBron's last season on his first visit to Cleveland is the other). He has every hand on every facet of the game. He creates open plans for his teammates and more space to allow them to operate on the floor. It also covers for them in defense while scoring with the effectiveness of Premier Shaquille O'Neal without dominating the ball. There have been only 27 seasons in the history of the NBA where a player has scored more than 25 points per game with a real shot percentage greater than 62. Durant has six.

Durant has become the most versatile player in the league, which is far more important than being the most valuable. The winner of the MVP has won the championship that same year five times since the beginning of the century. The reward often comes down to the difficulty level and the big players who have done the most with the least talent around them. This is not the best formula to succeed in the playoffs. To pass through a regular season of 82 games is to establish an identity on both sides of the ground. The key to surviving and progressing through four sets of seven games against elite competitions is to be able to change your identity on the fly.

That's why the teams with LeBron, who has been the most versatile player in the league for more than 10 years, have always been above their playoff weight. It's not that LeBron wanted his teams to be victorious. His post-season success was based on his ability to handle all the roles his team needed during a series. He could play the five positions at both ends of the ground, which meant his coaches could mix the players around him until they found the alignments that neutralized the opposing team's strengths. and attacked their weaknesses. His teams were moving targets. Cleveland had a different starting number of five in each closing game they played in three rounds of the Eastern Conference playoffs of last season. Golden State has never had any answer for him until they sign Durant.

The Warriors never had an answer for Durant either. The acquisition of it in free will has eliminated one of the biggest obstacles in their path. They barely survived Durant during the final phase of the 2016 West Conference. The big adjustment operated by Oklahoma City in this series put Durant on Draymond Green. This was a preview of what was going to happen in Golden State. Durant has spent the first half of his career playing mainly as a wing, but he can also be one of the most dominant men in the league. He swallowed Green at both ends of the ground, and he removed the pick-and-roll between Green and Curry by changing the screen and allowing his teammates to stay home in defense. There was no opportunity to play four goals out of three for Green and no free kick for anyone else. The Cavs copied the same shot in the finals with LeBron in the role of Durant. The difference was that they had Kyrie Irving instead of Westbrook, and three-pointers instead of Roberson and Dion Waiters.

The warriors had weaknesses that could be exploited in a series before Durant 's arrival. He gave them an answer to everything. He is fifth in the career playoffs on average (28.8 points per game), with a higher real shot percentage (59.1) than all players before him. There is no one in the league on which he can not score, and no one he can not match. He earned an average of 28.5 points over 50% in a second-round win over San Antonio in 2016, while being defended primarily by Kawhi Leonard, one of the biggest defenders of the perimeter. all time. Returning to the history of the league to find a player who could protect Durant would be an unsuccessful attempt, as his skills would seem more bizarre as you move forward. There was no frame of reference for what he was doing when he started. Durant was the one who coined the term "unicorn" almost a decade in his career.

The balance of power in the NBA now revolves around Durant. LeBron is touted to be able to boast five championships, not six, nor seven, when he signed in Miami. Durant could actually do it if he signed up again with Golden State. KD is 30 years old, Curry is 31 years old, Klay Thompson and Draymond is 29 years old. This team could stay together indefinitely. It does not seem to happen, though. Durant has been linked to New York all season and will have many intriguing options in free will if he looks elsewhere. It is difficult to know from the outside what will determine his decision. It would be a pity that the noise of social media makes it back to him.

Durant occupies a strange space in the hierarchy of the NBA. This is a great player of all time in the prime of life who does not have a lot of fans. He is still hated in Oklahoma City and he has never been accepted at Golden State. The perception is that his two championships and two MVP Finals do not count for his legacy because the Warriors are not really his team. Even when the backlash to decision was at its peak, LeBron still had legions of devoted fans. One of the most revealing things about Durant defending himself with a burning account on Twitter is that nobody was doing it for him.

Although it seems odd that he leaves such a situation in Golden State, he can change the narrative that surrounds his career with the decision that he takes in the offseason. Durant can not return to Oklahoma City, which is limited for an indefinite future, but he can continue to follow the rest of LeBron's plan. James made a pit stop in his late twenties in Miami before winning his own championship title in his early thirties. There could be a lot of stellar movements this season, and there are several teams on the big markets (Clippers, Knicks and Nets) that have enough space for their course or can create enough to engage two players at most.

Anthony Davis is the biggest ruler of all free-will decisions in the league. The Lakers and Celtics have long been considered the leaders of the Davis competition, but the former could not reach an agreement by the deadline and are in terrible conditions with the Pelicans, while the latter may have to retain their best potential. assets until they know what will happen with Kyrie. Durant can take the ultimate power by bringing Kyrie with him and joining Davis with the Clippers or the Knicks, who should both have the strength to negotiate with Davis this summer.

Some people would criticize Durant for joining another top team, but that would be a misunderstanding of how the league functions in 2019. The biggest players play for Keep. The competition does not end at the end of the game. It lasts all year. The stakes are too important not to be the best team possible. If you do not do it, someone else will do it. LeBron thought that he was creating a dynasty when he joined Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. He bailed out when he saw a better situation in Cleveland next to Kyrie and finally Kevin Love. Durant defeated LeBron in 2016. He could do it again this summer. And if he does not, he could end up making the same mistake as LeBron when he came to see the Lakers.

LeBron vs. Durant could be a more interesting historical debate than LeBron vs. Jordan. Durant already has one of the most impressive CVs in NBA history: 10 star appearances, nine star teams, one MVP, two championships and two finalists by final. If he can stay healthy – no guarantee for a 7-footer who has missed most of a season with a broken foot – he will fly in the records. Durant is no. 31 career rankings for points (22,940). The only active players between him and LeBron are Dirk Nowitzki, Carmelo Anthony, Vince Carter and Dwyane Wade. The next four are Pau Gasol, Jamal Crawford, Tony Parker and Joe Johnson. You have to go see his former racing companions in Oklahoma City – Westbrook (# 59 to 18,859) and James Harden (# 63 to 18,627) – to find someone who is even able to chase Durant.

I had Zach Kram, our statistician at The ring, crunch the numbers. He used a model originally invented by Bill James for baseball and developed by John Hollinger for basketball to assess the likelihood that a player will reach a career milestone. According to his findings, LeBron has a 69.9% chance of overtaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (No. 1 with 38,387) and a 44% chance of reaching 40,000 points, while Durant has a 20.8% chance to catch Kareem and 14.1% chance. up to 40,000. The problem, as Kram pointed out, is that it's not possible to model a player like Durant, whose skills are unique, meaning that his aging curve could be too.

There are still many traces of Durant's legacy. His game, based on size and shooting ability, should age better than LeBron's. The best seven-foot players in NBA history, from Kareem to Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki, have all played at a high level beyond their thirties. Durant (which certainly has a height of 7 feet, despite its indicated size), has the advantage of starting from a higher base speed and skill. No other 7-foot player has spent his 20 years playing like a little before. Players tend to move up the spectrum of the position as they age, offsetting any decline in athleticism by comparing to larger and slower players. Duncan and Dirk extended their careers from 4 to 5 in their thirties. Durant can do them better. It slides from 3 to 4, then again from 4 to 5, over games. He could be one of the best centers in the league at the end of his thirties.

Durant and LeBron could become no. 1 and 2 scorers in the history of the NBA. The sport will be very different in the years following their retirement. Few people have put Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain in the discussion of the best player of all time because of the perceived level of competition in the 1960s. The same will happen for players of the 1980s and 1990s. Fans of the years 2030 will see non-HD games in the same way as black and white games. They will wonder why the players are not shooting at 3, and the number of fights and fights on the ground will make him puzzled. Switch from Warriors vs. Cavs at a knockout match Knicks vs. Heat in the 1990's returned to laser battles in space to cave-men beating their heads with stones. It will be difficult for future fans to think of a player from such an archaic time as the greatest player of all time.

The discussion around Durant will change. There have been several players who have been put forward as the next Durant, and none has been up to it. It is almost impossible for a seventh of a foot to be as skilled as him. This is an unprecedented historical anomaly and no successor. Durant is one of the hardest players in the history of the NBA. Players of his size do not play as guards without spending an unimaginable number of hours at the gym. And players do not become big smugglers in the NBA without untold hours watching movies. I've had the chance to watch him closely and personally during a season in Texas. He is an absolutely incredible player. All the baggage he carries with him does not matter. It will be forgotten in time.