Kevin Durant is one of the greatest scorers of all time. Perhaps he’s the only player that has been back as good as always after suffering such a major injury at that point in his career.
Durant picked up things right where he left them despite such a long layoff. His jumper was as wet as always, he didn’t miss a step or his hops, and he was even hungrier to win.
That’s why sports analyst Ben Simmons went as far as to say that he should already be ranked as the 9th best player in NBA history, even ahead of the likes of Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Moses Malone:
“I thought Durant was unbelievable in this Bucks/Nets series, I moved him up in my all-time rankings. I have him 10th above Shaq, Moses, Hakeem. The shot-making is just better now than in the 80s/90s. Durant should have had 4 rings,” Simmons said on the Low Post Podcast.
Lowe Post podcast: @BillSimmons + I preview the NBA season: Would Nets still be favored w/o Kyrie? Which powers are at play-in risk? New potential rivalries, stars under pressure, Ben Simmons/sneaky trade targets:
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Notably, that would mean that Simmons now believes that Kevin Durant is ranked just below Kobe Bryant. Back in May, he listed in order his top 15 players in the league, according to NBC Sports:
“On the most recent episode of his podcast, Simmons named (in order) his top 15 in the “Pantheon.”
Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Tim Duncan, Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant, Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal, Moses Malone and Kevin Durant.”
Durant is already a first-ballot Hall of Famer and one of the most disruptive forces in the history of the league, so that’s not much of a hot take.
Simmons also believes that the NBA is KD’s league right now, with Giannis as the only player who could be at his level and both of them above LeBron James:
“I think he’s one of the best 10 players,” Simmons said. “I wouldn’t say he’s in the top two. I think that would be crazy to think he’s still on the Giannis/Durant level. I don’t see it. … Put it this way: Could he have done what Durant did on that Brooklyn team last year? I don’t think so. In that, when everybody got hurt, could he have carried them the way Durant did? I don’t think so. Could he have done what Giannis did in those last two-and-a-half rounds? I don’t think so.”
Simmons is a well-known Boston Celtics fan so maybe his takes on LeBron shouldn’t be taken that seriously, but he’s got a valid point when he talks about Durant.
And if Kyrie Irving doesn’t play half of the season and Durant still leads the Nets to the first seed in the Eastern Conference, I think he’ll prove Simmons’ point.
