Obviously, a season like 2014/15 doesn’t count, where he was out injured almost the whole season.
Durant joined the SuperSonics in 2007, averaging 20 PPG in his rookie season. He then played for OKC for many years together with Westbrook and Harden. Then he went to Golden State, playing with Curry and Thompson. After that, he joined the Brooklyn Nets and played with James Harden and Kyrie Irving. Lately, he joined the Suns with Devin Booker.
So I would say there are not many players in NBA history who had more star teammates over the years than KD. Can you still say that KD always was the #1 guy at the end of the day? Especially when it goes to the clutch time?
Kd has never made his teammates better even if he is the “best player on team”
He’s not a #1 and it’s been clear since 2021
His mystique is gone, they aren’t scared of him anymore
Bucks in 6 🦌🏆
No. Durant was never the best player on the Warriors.
Every other season? Sure.
When he was with the Thunder, he played alongside Westbrook, who is assertive and aggressive. KD, though people will disagree, is a LEADER, but he is a LEAD BY EXAMPLE type, and frankly speaking, he never seemed to be able to assert himself with Westbrook the way he should have to maximize that team’s success.
In Golden State, the team recognized Durant’s strengths, and knew what he wanted: To take the shots. They knew he could make them, and Curry and Klay let him take the lion’s share of the shots, knowing that their system would still work.
But it was always Curry that the other teams were most worried about. Durant never got so many open looks or opportunities to go 1on1.
He had his best individual seasons there, but Curry was always the best player on that team.
Either side is arguable for the KD Warriors years imo. People say that curry is better despite durant producing because curry took up more defensive attention. Ok, that’s fine. However, KD still produced and capitalized on that and him doing that allowed the warriors to do as well as they did. I think Curry’s slightly greater all time but people saying it isn’t close in favor of either player are just straight up delusional. They’re both ATGs and top 15 OAT imo, Curry being slightly higher, while KD being near the bottom
Westbrook was better player in 2015/16 season. Got more MVP votes than KD in regular season. Was slightly better in the playoffs.
I wouldn’t put him ahead of Curry when he played in Golden State
It would be a pretty terrible argument. Westbrook was better in 2016, Curry was better from 2017-2019 and Booker was better in 2023.
No.
You can definitely make an argument. Sneakily though apart from Steph being better in Golden State, Harden was also more valuable to the Nets in 2021 IMO. He was the offensive engine that lifted both himself and everyone around him.
KD while being an absolute offensive god himself, doesn’t have the same impact on his teammates as Harden, Steph, Lebron, CP3 IMO
I’ve watched every game he’s played in Phoenix and I’m drinking that Booker Coolaid. KD has been good here but if he’s the best player on the team right now, he hasn’t hit his groove yet.
You’d struggle to sell me on him being better than Booker this year (not his fault, his body just don’t let hit move like that anymore), and I think he was very much the second best player in GS. KD goes down and GS could keep on trucking, Steph goes down it’s a panic room situation
Not in 21 in BKN. Harden was better.
KD Fans: He taller then Steph
Rest of the World: Steph better
Rest of the World
Except Curry’s own coach, and eammates. And FMVP voters
Booker was better than KD last season.
Furry was better than KD. That’s why KD had to go to his team so Steph could win him a championship. Cause if they gotta worry that much about him it’ll be way easier for KD.
Definitely not better than Curry.
KD is good, but Curry is the GREATEST SHOOTER OF ALL TIME. It’s why he has more rings than KD.
People really just gonna throw around goat shooter like Shaq just says most dominant.
Im guessing they meant just for the years durant was on curry’s team.
The warriors were always better with lineups featuring Curry and no Durant than vice versa even during the three years KD was on the team. That is backed up both by eye test and actual on off data where they were like +15 net rating if both played, +12 with curry no KD, and +5 with KD no Curry (I could be fudging the numbers slightly but it was something like that where Durant was obviously a great player but the real driver of that team was always curry).
Here is a video from thinking basketball that dives into it more.
The warriors were always better with lineups featuring Curry and no Durant than vice versa even during the three years KD was on the team.
Because Curry’s backups sucked and were out of the league and when KD was out they had Klay and Draymond step up to replace him.
Yeah I really don’t think that was the reason. KD was playing with Klay and Draymond too it’s not like those guys were coming in for him. I think Steph really elevates the other guys around him (including KD) better which is why the team as a whole played better with him.
Here is a video that gets into some more of the film and numbers. To summarize the video; defenses were always much more keyed in on Curry, KD had significantly more efficient scoring efforts when he played with curry than without but Curry was mostly the same with or without, warriors were +2.4 if KD played without Curry vs +12 if Curry played without KD, and +15 if they both played so obviously better but the real driver to their success is curry.
Durant was the best player on the Warriors imo and arguably the best player in the world.
I wouldn’t argue firmly one way or another since we’re talking about two all time great players but imo watching the games and looking at the underlying data Curry was always the real driver of the warriors success. Defenses were also aware of this and spent a lot more attention to Curry.
I think that’s why they were always more successful during those years without Durant than without curry and to me the point was cemented by them winning another championship in pretty convincing fashion without him.
That is perfectly fair although as a person that has watched all of their seasons in the NBA Durant imo was the better player until his many career threatening injuries piled up and he lost a some/a lot of his dexterity, flexibility, agility, bounce, stability, explosiveness, quickness, power and finishing ability.
Durant started out better but Curry has overtaken Durant because he is still a dynamic game changer even though he is older and changed his style some from 2016; while Durant still puts up impressive stats but is much easier to guard, stop, limit and beat now imo.
Although, I wondered had Curry passed Magic Johnson as the best point guard ever when he was winning MVP’s I still think prime pre injuries Kevin Durant was a better player and if I could only have one in their absolute prime on my favorite team it would be Durant although I think Curry is a better player right now.
The warriors were always better with lineups featuring Curry and no Durant than vice versa even during the three years KD was on the team.
The system they used for years was built around Curry, and KD’s a plug and play type of the guy. The warriors had no reason to change their way so it makes sense that they played better in the Curry lineups.
Imo that alone can’t account for the dramatic differences that came about during their years together the final numbers ran up as +2 when KD plays without Steph, +12 when Steph played without Curry, and +15. I think those dramatic swings are more do to Curry being better at elevating everyone around him than anything else. To me KD is the better 1 on 1 player but Steph is the better player for 5 on 5.
Again tho I think we’re talking about two all time greats so I don’t think it’s crazy for anyone to have KD above him those years.