One Category That Kevin Durant Is Almost Guaranteed to Be Better at Next Season

Throughout Kevin Durant's already Hall of Fame career, he has been known as one of the best scorers year in and year out. Durant has combined a limitless range with size and one of the best handles for a player his size in NBA history.

Durant has made a living scoring from all over the court and, even in this day and age, still utilizes the mid-range game at an efficient rate. It should come as no surprise, then, to see that he has one of the best career offensive ratings in NBA history.

Another part of Durant's game that isn't discussed as much is that he has still been elite at times on the defensive end of the court. Durant has averaged over a block and over a steal a game for his career. The exact size that makes him almost unstoppable on the offensive end has served him well on the defensive end.

Even in his later years, Durant has still maintained the same dominance on offense and consistency on defense. Having a positive net rating typically means you are a net positive player, and your team benefits from having you on the court. Marking down Durant with a positive net rating had been a forgone conclusion for most of his career up until last season.

Before last season, Durant had not had a negative net rating since his rookie season in the NBA 18 years ago. That season was a peculiar one for Durant and Seattle, as it was the Supersonics' last season in Seattle before the team relocated to Oklahoma City, and the team was in the midst of a rebuild. The Sonics finished 20-62 that season, so it comes as no surprise to see Durant have a -10 net rating.

The Suns team last season won more than 20 games, but that doesn't mean they weren't a team in disarray. They dealt with injuries, internal fighting, and seemed to pack it in at the end of the season. That led to a bad team overall, and even Durant, who still averaged over 26 a game, couldn't save them. Durant had a negative two net rating last season as the Suns were one of the worst defensive teams in the league.

Expect Kevin Durant to Be On the Positive Side of Net Rating Again This Season