BY JULIAN MACKOOL, SPORTS STAFFER
Kevin Durant is the most-overrated NBA player of the last seven years.
Reading this, you might disagree — which I can understand. A quick breakdown of Durant’s career accolades represents an all-time career: thirteen-time All-Star, one-time MVP, two-time NBA Finals champion, two-time Finals MVP and many more accolades.
Now, there’s no question Durant is a great player, but I’ll tell you why he’s overrated. Durant was always a great player but never a vocal guy or someone who leads by example. He was never the leader in any team he’s been on, as shown through his time with the Oklahoma City Thunder. It was Russell Westbrook, and with the Golden State Warriors it was Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala. The one time Durant had to be a leader, he went to Brooklyn with Kyrie Irving, and they couldn’t win. Not because those Nets weren’t talented, but because there was no leadership or accountability on the part of Durant. All Durant wanted to do was “hoop.”
“I enjoy hooping. It’s simple as that,” Durant said.
To win championships in basketball, your best player also has to be interested in being vocal and being a coach on the court. An example of this is LeBron James and Michael Jordan leading their teams to championships because of their talent and involvement with their teams.
What leads Kevin Durant to be overrated is also how his plus-minus has gone down in the playoffs. What plus-minus means is how good a player is on the court. From the 2017-2023 playoffs, his plus-minus has decreased yearly from +207 to +85 to +34 to –31 to -5. His impact on the floor could have been better for how good a player he should be. He has gotten worse when he must take more responsibility, and for how great he’s made out to be, these stats say otherwise.
The final closing argument is that besides scoring, Kevin Durant does nothing to get others to evolve. He was never a great playmaker and passer, and when Kevin Durant can’t score, he is nowhere to be found. He averages 4.3 assists per game but 27.3 points per game, so really, he’s out there to do what he said.
Durant likes to hoop, which can be suitable for himself but not for a team sport where the goal is to win a championship. Durant is a great player but gets overrated, and compared to other players, he doesn’t belong. But that’s okay, because being compared to better people still shows how good of a player Durant is.
mackooj23@bonaventure.edu
Leave a Reply