THE AMERICA ONE NEWS
Jun 25, 2025  |  
0
 | Remer,MN
Sponsor:  QWIKET 
Sponsor:  QWIKET 
Sponsor:  QWIKET: Elevate your fantasy game! Interactive Sports Knowledge.
Sponsor:  QWIKET: Elevate your fantasy game! Interactive Sports Knowledge and Reasoning Support for Fantasy Sports and Betting Enthusiasts.
back  
topic
NY Post
New York Post
22 Jan 2024


NextImg:Kevin Durant thinks he should be in NBA GOAT debate: ‘What haven’t I done?’

Kevin Durant has entered the chat.

The Phoenix Suns forward thinks he has the résumé to be included in the NBA greatest of all-time conversation, which is usually a debate between Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan and Lakers superstar LeBron James.

As for why he isn’t widely considered in the GOAT debate?

“Because I went to the Warriors,” Durant told The Arizona Republic last week, referring to 2016, when he left the Oklahoma City Thunder after nine years to join the Golden State Warriors.

“Why shouldn’t I be in that? That’s the question you should ask. Why not? What haven’t I done?”

Durant’s move from OKC to the Warriors is still considered one of the most polarizing free agency moves in NBA history.

Some believe he took the easy way out when he left the Thunder — where he was the part of a Big 3 with Russell Westbrook and James Harden, whom are now teammates on the Clippers — to join a Warriors team with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson that was established and fresh off a championship run in 2015.

Kevin Durant #35 of the Phoenix Suns celebrates after defeating the Sacramento Kings in the NBA game at Footprint Center on January 16, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona. Getty Images

Durant, who will turn 36 in September, is undoubtedly a future first-ballot Hall-of-Famer.

The 7-footer won two consecutive NBA championships and two finals MVPs with the Warriors in 2017 and 2018 — and made the Finals all three seasons he was with Golden State.

Durant, who is a 13-time NBA All-Star, won a regular season MVP award in the 2013-14 campaign.

He has three Olympic gold medals (2012, 2016, and 2020) and is the leading scorer in Team USA’s men’s Olympic basketball history.

Kevin Durant #35 of the Phoenix Suns shoots over Jonas Valanciunas #17 of the New Orleans Pelicans during the third quarter of an NBA game at Smoothie King Center on January 19, 2024 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Getty Images

Durant’s infamous decision has been the butt of jokes on numerous occasions.

Hall-of-Fame quarterback Peyton Manning joked that Durant would join the Final Five women’s gymnastics team because of their dominance when he made a brief appearance during the 2022 ESPYs — which Durant wasn’t happy about.

In 2022, Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley claimed Durant’s career outside Golden State is an “abject failure.” 

If you’re counting championships, then Durant is last in the conversation behind Jordan, who won six championships and James who has five titles; nobody has more than Bill Russell’s 11 titles with the Celtics.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) dribbles the ball against the Dallas Mavericks in the second half at Crypto.com Arena. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
Michael Jordan #23 of the Chicago Bulls handles the ball against the Charlotte Hornets on May 8, 1998 at Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. NBAE/Getty Images

The late Lakers icon Kobe Bryant won five NBA championships in his 20-year NBA career in Los Angeles, and is widely included in the conversation — as is Curry, who won four championships with the Warriors.

He nearly completed a three-peat championship run with the Warriors — and joined Jordan and Bryant in that exclusive club — when Golden State lost to the Raptors in the 2019 Finals.

Durant suffered an Achilles injury and signed with the Nets in the summer of 2019, and joined forces with his good friend, point guard Kyrie Irving (now with the Mavericks)

That plan never worked out and Durant requested a trade out of Brooklyn in June 2022, just days after Irving received permission from the team to seek a sign-and-trade.

Brooklyn traded Durant to the Suns for a haul of first-round draft picks in a surprise blockbuster before last year’s NBA trade deadline.

Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) drives on Indiana Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith (23) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024, in Phoenix. AP

In his first full season with Phoenix, Durant is currently having an MVP-caliber campaign.

He is averaging 28.9 points on 53.2 percent shooting in his 17th NBA season, and was named the NBA Western Conference Player of the Week for Week 13 of the 2023-24 season (Jan. 15-21).

Durant is 10th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list — which is led by James — having played in fewer games than the nine players in front of him.

He is only 683 points behind O’Neal for eighth and trails Carmelo Anthony by 376 points, and has played in fewer games than both retired players.

Durant was also named to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary team in 2021, which he said “meant everything” to him.

Durant is in the second of a four-year, $194.2 million contract with the Suns.  

Phoenix won its fifth straight game against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.

The Suns (24-18) host the Chicago Bulls (21-23) Monday night.