Kevin Durant’s complicated legacy with the Phoenix Suns

Durant’s legacy in Phoenix:

Durant played 145 games with the Suns, where he averaged 26.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.3 rebounds on 52.7% shooting. He was an All-Star in his two full seasons with the franchise and made All-NBA second team in the 2023-2024 season. Injuries slowed down his output but his production never seemed to faulter. Where the criticism derives for the former MVP is the lack of playoff success.

The Suns are 6-9 in the playoffs with Durant, missing the playoffs entirely last year. Phoenix went the farthest in postseason in Durant’s debut season, where the core of him, Devin Booker, Chris Paul and DeAndre Ayton took the eventual NBA champion Denver Nuggets to six games. Despite the second round exit, there was still hope that a full season with Durant could lead to great success.

That thought would remain a what-if, as Phoenix would trade Chris Paul for Bradley Beal and DeAndre Ayton for Jusuf Nurkic. Those two trades would lead to the franchise’s downfall, as Beal’s laundry list injury history and no-trade clause stunted the Suns from making any moves to improve the roster.

Phoenix would be swept by the Timberwolves in the first round of the 2024 playoffs and that hangover would carry into next season. The front office tried to find quick fixes to the problems by hiring its second coach in two years. In Durant’s time with the Suns, he had played under three different head coaches, which is not a recipe for success.

After an 8-1 start to this season, Durant would again be sidelined by injuries and essentially ending the team’s playoffs hopes. The roster wasn’t built to survive without the former scoring leader and it nosedived. The Suns couldn’t recover from the initial Durant injury even after he returned and missed the playoffs.

The future Hall of Famer would then be traded this offseason, finishing his time in the Valley with an 85-60 record. When he was on the floor, the Suns played winning basketball, but the injuries and front office miscues ruined the end product. Durant’s time in Phoenix will be seen as a failure, but it won’t be his fault of his own. His complicated history with the Suns will look bad after the disaster of last season but will grow over time to be seen in a more positive light.

Durant’s time with the Suns will a lost relic of his legendary playing career. However, he might be one the greatest players to wear a Suns jersey, but he will never be considered one of the great Suns of All-time.