Kevin Durant is one of the greatest NBA players of the 21st century, having won an MVP award and a pair of championships and Finals MVPs in his 16-year career.
During a recent episode of “KG Certified,” former NBA greats Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce both praised Durant, saying he is one of the best players of his era, but they debated whether the media properly holds him accountable.
“I put him at one point the best player in the league above LeBron when he was in Golden State, so my expectations of him is a little higher,” Pierce said. “But what we don’t do, I don’t think we hold him a little accountable or at the same type of level like we do ‘Bron. When ‘Bron ain’t playing well or his team is not playing well, we jump on him, we jump on the Lakers. But we never do that with Kevin Durant or Luka Doncic or some of these other guys. If we expect these guys to be at this level and all-time greats — a team led by KD has championship aspirations.”
Garnett argued that Durant’s consistency and high level of play throughout the years makes it difficult to hold him accountable since he doesn’t give much to criticize. Garnett also said that Durant’s current team has had too many injuries and lacks the necessary complements, namely a high-level point guard, to truly see what Durant and the Phoenix Suns are capable of achieving. Pierce conceded that Durant’s skill and durability at age 35 are “amazing.”
In his 16th season in the NBA, Durant is averaging 28.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game. Despite suffering multiple injuries throughout his career, including a torn Achilles in 2019, he has been remarkably durable this season in Phoenix; he has played in 60 of 67 games this year and has led the team to a tie for sixth in the Western Conference.
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