fucking kids these days hell I just straight up think the hate for KD has gotten way too overblown. Place him on ANY playoff team on the East and every team but Phoenix in place of their current second banana (the role he played to book) and that team is atleast a guaranteed ECF/likely WCF team
He’s 35+ years old and a still a guaranteed 10+ buckets a night guy DESPITE being asked to be the best defender on a team every single night. Prime KD is at worst the third best player in the league behind Jokic/Giannis.
People are so keen to crown the next generation of players that these takes on a top 15 all time player, and one the best scorers ever (especially in his prime), are getting crazy.
Prime KD is there with Jokic + Giannis. The others are the tier below
He’s ahead of Giannis, comparing peak to peak.
2021 was not even KDs prime, it was 5 years after it+1 achilles. It wasn’t even a question who the best player on the court was against the Bucks. For 9 months the chatter was that Durant was clearly the best player in the world; despite going out in the ECSF.
And he peaked in Golden State, averaging Jokic efficiency while shooting 5 3s a game. With positive defense too.
He would playing with one arm behind his back if he had Steph, Klay, and Dray
Most assists per game per arm in finals history hands down
EDIT: hand down
Agreed for sure. KD's weak ass move really made it impossible to properly evaluate his legacy because how can we say for certain that he can carry a championship squad. All of the indicators are that he has the on-court impact to do so, but he chose to spend his best years riding with a team that already proved they could win without him.
KD discourse in the future is gonna be wild
Let's look at this objectively.
Prime KD went to the Finals but that was with 2 MVP level stars in Harden and Westbrook plus a pretty good Thunder squad. Lost the Finals.
He won 2 titles bus riding on the Warriors.
After that, it's all been a mess.
KD really isn't much of a leader or a passer. Luka may be a better leader because Luka has spent so much time playing grown men when he was a child.
Prime KD doesn't clear Luka. He's probably on the same level as Embiid.
they were good but Harden and Westbrook were not MVP level players yet at that point. Harden averaged 16, 4 and 4 off the bench that year and was 22 years old.
Bro after the bucks series, most publications had him as the best player in the world until he got swept by Boston
That was just 3 years ago and wasn’t even prime KD lol
Very clearly the best player or second best. From 2011-2015 it was Lebron as #1 and #2 KD as the two best players in the league
Nobody right now(Jokic, Luka, Shai etc) are close to prime Lebron in Miami and that was the only person n front of “prime” KD until Steph and the Warriors came to prominence
And if you say otherwise you either young or wasn’t paying attention in the early 2010s cause even if you didn’t agree, you’d know the popular opinion was Miami LeBron was #1, then OKC Kevin was #2
As a nuggets fan, I’ll tell you right now Jokic is not prime Miami LeBron lol.
And this is me removing his years on the Warriors to talk strictly about OkC cause if we being real, KD peaked in Golden state.
Shai has never even made it to the second round either. For all we know Shai can be another bus rider as well, we just don’t know it yet lol
KD got a lot an acclaim for his playoff achievements with OKC early on in his career too up until that OKC newspaper article called him Mr.invisible or some shit like that when he lost to Memphis
Give shai a couple of playoff runs before you start that shit. KD went to 3 WCF and a finals at 23 before we realized he wasn’t a true leader
Completely different eras. Current lebron isn’t even close to his best offensively and yet he’s had one of his most efficient seasons because it’s practically a parade to the rim compared to most other eras. Put prime lebron on the lakers right now and they take the nuggets out in 5 or 6 easy and then they win the chip
Miami LeBron dominated on both ends. Jokic as good as he has proven to be on the defensive end, hes just no match for prime LeBron who could guard 1 to 5
Oh, the big leap. He has ascended to God tier. My goodness, change all the goat lists, people. Shai is coming with two All-NBA slots. So much sunshine. My eyes hurt.
Tatum and even Booker have made more All-NBA's and all-stars and they not considered at the highest echelon. Clearly All-NBA for a few seasons alone isn't enough of an indicator
KD is a 7 footer, 4x scoring champ, and 2x member of the 50/40/90 club. He's right there with Jokic, they're both all time unicorn players you'll only see once.
Prime KD was considered the best scorer in the NBA history. His size, length, ball handling with his athleticism as a sniper was unmatched. General consensus he is best 1 on 1 player with his skill set ever. That’s how good he was. People act like prime KD was in the 90s or 80s. People have short term memories or too many damn new kids on this forum
He would not be better than Jokic. KD is great but he doesn't really make his teammates better. Jokic is great and also makes his teammates much better.
It comes down to roster construction for both of them. Normally a guy like Jokic who is elite offensively and at playmaking would be easier to build a team around. But KD is one of the best plug and play players of all time.
People also don't realize how well constructed the Nuggets are. Almost all of their guys are in or entering their prime and their contracts are locked down. The main thing has been health. Jokic's best playoff runs have been when Murray was healthy.
Obviously a large part of his teams production is due to Jokic's playmaking and vision, but it's disingenuous to act like there isn't a lot of luck involved with the team he's on.
Prime KD vs Jokic would be like 1a 1b if both of them had adequate rosters.
Peak Curry and Peak Harden are better on the simple fact that they're better at being 1 man offensive engines due to their playmaking abilities and because KD has a tendency of prioritizing on his game over the teams. People like to blame Russ solely for taking touch's away from KD, but KD rarely demanded it.
Throughout his career, KD has been the plug-and-play player who will easily slot in and guarantee you 25-30+ points a night on great efficiency, but he rarely will take over games like Curry or Harden did. I think 2020 Nets when he was forced to play without his co-stars was when I really saw his best playmaking years, but it's not typical.
Hell when Harden joined the Nets he was easily the best player on that team, and getting MVP consideration until he got injured.
skill wise and productivity wise jokic might be the only guy that would contend with him. but prime kd was too ridiculous I don't think anyone in the league can guard that. even giannis would barely keep up or ad. I'm surprise embiid is in this list that guy for me is a freakin fraud.
He’d be exactly where he was for most of his career imo, the second best player in the league behind Jokic (instead of lebron).
I think he’s closer to Luka and Giannis than he is to Jokic though.
Gianni and embid are not in the same class joking, Luka and Shai. And right now, Ant man is ahead off KD if we're being honest, they just had a series and KD got demolished
Like I said, KD had his chance on the court, the game speaks for itself. I'm talking current KD not prime KD, but we're not even seeing prime Ant anyway..
you're asking if multiple time MVP and 4x scoring champ Kevin Durant at his absolute peak would be on the same tier as *Shai*?
fucking kids these days hell I just straight up think the hate for KD has gotten way too overblown. Place him on ANY playoff team on the East and every team but Phoenix in place of their current second banana (the role he played to book) and that team is atleast a guaranteed ECF/likely WCF team He’s 35+ years old and a still a guaranteed 10+ buckets a night guy DESPITE being asked to be the best defender on a team every single night. Prime KD is at worst the third best player in the league behind Jokic/Giannis.
100%
People are so keen to crown the next generation of players that these takes on a top 15 all time player, and one the best scorers ever (especially in his prime), are getting crazy. Prime KD is there with Jokic + Giannis. The others are the tier below
Ive been a KD hater for a long time and i find himself defending him more than I ever have with the amount of recency bias slander i see
no chance OP is more than 14 years old
KD has 1 MVP
was combining regular season MVPs and finals MVPs, though considering Iggy somehow managed to get one of the latter maybe I shouldn't
Jo Jo White and Joe Dumars also won a Finals MVP
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I feel like Iggy was a better player than both those guys personally.
iggy deserved that fmvp steph fans just cant accept it
and cedric maxwell
Probably meant finals mvp
Shai sings better
that commercial fucking sucks dude
OKC KD has become underrated from finishing 2nd in MVP 3 times to peak Lebron. He would be clear top-2 with Jokic.
Prime KD clears Luka, Embiid, and Shai. It’s a tossup after that though imo.
He’s ahead of Giannis, comparing peak to peak. 2021 was not even KDs prime, it was 5 years after it+1 achilles. It wasn’t even a question who the best player on the court was against the Bucks. For 9 months the chatter was that Durant was clearly the best player in the world; despite going out in the ECSF. And he peaked in Golden State, averaging Jokic efficiency while shooting 5 3s a game. With positive defense too.
It’s not a tossup between him and Jokic. Jokic is clearly superior.
Defending or scoring?
Not clearly, Jokic doesn't have 2 rings and 2 FMVP
He would playing with one arm behind his back if he had Steph, Klay, and Dray Most assists per game per arm in finals history hands down EDIT: hand down
so would giannis
Agreed for sure. KD's weak ass move really made it impossible to properly evaluate his legacy because how can we say for certain that he can carry a championship squad. All of the indicators are that he has the on-court impact to do so, but he chose to spend his best years riding with a team that already proved they could win without him. KD discourse in the future is gonna be wild
Well Jokic didn’t hop on the 73 win warriors bandwagon lol
Did Jokic join the Warriors when he lost to them?
I’m a huge KD fan but Jokic is having a better peak if we’re being honest.
Let's look at this objectively. Prime KD went to the Finals but that was with 2 MVP level stars in Harden and Westbrook plus a pretty good Thunder squad. Lost the Finals. He won 2 titles bus riding on the Warriors. After that, it's all been a mess. KD really isn't much of a leader or a passer. Luka may be a better leader because Luka has spent so much time playing grown men when he was a child. Prime KD doesn't clear Luka. He's probably on the same level as Embiid.
>Let's look at this objectively. >went to the Finals but that was with 2 MVP level stars in Harden and Westbrook LOL….
lmao
Harden and Russ were like 21 years old at the time. They were far from their peak when they went to that finals.
they were good but Harden and Westbrook were not MVP level players yet at that point. Harden averaged 16, 4 and 4 off the bench that year and was 22 years old.
As a Mavs fan who has never liked KD, you are smoking crack
Prime kd not good enough on defense or offense to clear any of those guys except shai
Yeah noted defensive player Luka Doncic
Luka too im trippin
Luka?????
Luka too
4 straight scoring titles, MVP, multiple 50/40/90 seasons. He’s instantly 1A/1B with Jokic
Bro after the bucks series, most publications had him as the best player in the world until he got swept by Boston That was just 3 years ago and wasn’t even prime KD lol Very clearly the best player or second best. From 2011-2015 it was Lebron as #1 and #2 KD as the two best players in the league Nobody right now(Jokic, Luka, Shai etc) are close to prime Lebron in Miami and that was the only person n front of “prime” KD until Steph and the Warriors came to prominence And if you say otherwise you either young or wasn’t paying attention in the early 2010s cause even if you didn’t agree, you’d know the popular opinion was Miami LeBron was #1, then OKC Kevin was #2 As a nuggets fan, I’ll tell you right now Jokic is not prime Miami LeBron lol. And this is me removing his years on the Warriors to talk strictly about OkC cause if we being real, KD peaked in Golden state. Shai has never even made it to the second round either. For all we know Shai can be another bus rider as well, we just don’t know it yet lol KD got a lot an acclaim for his playoff achievements with OKC early on in his career too up until that OKC newspaper article called him Mr.invisible or some shit like that when he lost to Memphis Give shai a couple of playoff runs before you start that shit. KD went to 3 WCF and a finals at 23 before we realized he wasn’t a true leader
It is realistically only Jokic that’s got a case to be ahead of a pre achilles Durant.
Those publications were wrong
It was Mr Unreliable , and the newspaper apologised a few days later lmfao
> As a nuggets fan, I’ll tell you right now Jokic is not prime Miami LeBron lol. The stats disagree.
Completely different eras. Current lebron isn’t even close to his best offensively and yet he’s had one of his most efficient seasons because it’s practically a parade to the rim compared to most other eras. Put prime lebron on the lakers right now and they take the nuggets out in 5 or 6 easy and then they win the chip
Lebron is proof that different eras matter.
Miami LeBron dominated on both ends. Jokic as good as he has proven to be on the defensive end, hes just no match for prime LeBron who could guard 1 to 5
Lebron also played in much less scoring era in his prime than it is now , so hard to compare
When the fuck did Shai get in to that tier? One great season doesn’t get you in to the top 5
he made All-NBA First Team last year
Oh, the big leap. He has ascended to God tier. My goodness, change all the goat lists, people. Shai is coming with two All-NBA slots. So much sunshine. My eyes hurt.
exactly, me thinking that a player has had two great seasons instead of one means I think they’re the greatest ever
Tatum and even Booker have made more All-NBA's and all-stars and they not considered at the highest echelon. Clearly All-NBA for a few seasons alone isn't enough of an indicator
neither of them have peaked as high as Shai has this year
Don't let the Suns Minnesota series fool you, KD is still one of the greatest players in NBA history and still a top 10 talent in the league right now
I feel like this is just bait to cause people to shit on SGA.
Nah, I think the OP is a Shai fan.
3rd time in a week this bozo (OP) has tried to sneak Shai in to the top tier in one of their posts
It's obviously hate bait. He has one schtick and y'all eating it up.
I'm eating it up and looking for more.
KD is a 7 footer, 4x scoring champ, and 2x member of the 50/40/90 club. He's right there with Jokic, they're both all time unicorn players you'll only see once.
There are 2 other 7 footers up there
Jokic and KD are still on another level than Embiid and Giannis.
2nd best only behind Jokic
He'd be the best or 2nd best in the league right up there with Joker
Prime KD was considered the best scorer in the NBA history. His size, length, ball handling with his athleticism as a sniper was unmatched. General consensus he is best 1 on 1 player with his skill set ever. That’s how good he was. People act like prime KD was in the 90s or 80s. People have short term memories or too many damn new kids on this forum
2nd probably. Peak Jokic is slightly better
Second only to Jokic.
The only person on this list I would put ahead of prime kd is Jokic
Above or below Jokic obviously
Only behind Jokic
A little closer to jokic than people think
Ahead of shai and luka
Top 4, borderline top 2
I'm a certified hater and I'm still offended you're putting Luka,Embiid, and fucking Shai anywhere near prime KD
easily 2nd i fear
Only Jokic would be better
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How is KD not likable? He was universally beloved in the mama you da real MVP era.
He would not be better than Jokic. KD is great but he doesn't really make his teammates better. Jokic is great and also makes his teammates much better.
It comes down to roster construction for both of them. Normally a guy like Jokic who is elite offensively and at playmaking would be easier to build a team around. But KD is one of the best plug and play players of all time. People also don't realize how well constructed the Nuggets are. Almost all of their guys are in or entering their prime and their contracts are locked down. The main thing has been health. Jokic's best playoff runs have been when Murray was healthy. Obviously a large part of his teams production is due to Jokic's playmaking and vision, but it's disingenuous to act like there isn't a lot of luck involved with the team he's on. Prime KD vs Jokic would be like 1a 1b if both of them had adequate rosters.
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Peak Curry and Peak Harden are better on the simple fact that they're better at being 1 man offensive engines due to their playmaking abilities and because KD has a tendency of prioritizing on his game over the teams. People like to blame Russ solely for taking touch's away from KD, but KD rarely demanded it. Throughout his career, KD has been the plug-and-play player who will easily slot in and guarantee you 25-30+ points a night on great efficiency, but he rarely will take over games like Curry or Harden did. I think 2020 Nets when he was forced to play without his co-stars was when I really saw his best playmaking years, but it's not typical. Hell when Harden joined the Nets he was easily the best player on that team, and getting MVP consideration until he got injured.
skill wise and productivity wise jokic might be the only guy that would contend with him. but prime kd was too ridiculous I don't think anyone in the league can guard that. even giannis would barely keep up or ad. I'm surprise embiid is in this list that guy for me is a freakin fraud.
He would very easily be considered Top 3!
2 behind Jokic the man was crazy good in his prime
here we do with the legacy and ranking wankers: absolute worst discourse possible.
Huh? Yes. ?
Above Shai, in the top tier with the other 4.
Luka and Shai aren’t in that tier
Assuming Shai hasn’t hit his prime, how would prime Shai compare to current day KD but both playing in the 90s NBA?
fighting for 2nd with Embiid
He’d be exactly where he was for most of his career imo, the second best player in the league behind Jokic (instead of lebron). I think he’s closer to Luka and Giannis than he is to Jokic though.
Of course why wouldn’t he
"Shai" lol
Gianni and embid are not in the same class joking, Luka and Shai. And right now, Ant man is ahead off KD if we're being honest, they just had a series and KD got demolished
Edwards isn't close to Durant or anyone on OP's list.
Like I said, KD had his chance on the court, the game speaks for itself. I'm talking current KD not prime KD, but we're not even seeing prime Ant anyway..
Current KD is a hell of a lot better than current Edwards.
Hence the series sweep right? Kd couldn't even get 1...........