Isiah Thomas didn’t hesitate when the Kevin Durant and Michael Jordan comparison came up, and the way he framed it shifts the conversation in a different direction. Speaking on the Run It Back TV podcast, Thomas made a bold claim. If you put Kevin Durant in Michael Jordan’s place on those Chicago Bulls teams, he believes the result would look the same: Six championships.
“And I said this to Kevin Durant, and I’m going to say this to all of you sitting on the panel. If you put him back in our era, put him in that triple post, that mid post area, take Michael Jordan out, and you give him Scottie Pippen, Toni Kukoč, Dennis Rodman, B.J. Armstrong, Craig Hodges around him.”
“Would he have won six championships? Absolutely. You give him that system, that mid range post, and that ball is targeted to him every night. He’s getting 25 to 30 attempts. Yeah, he’s doing the same thing.”
“The most amazing thing about Kevin Durant is the efficiency. Go look at his shot attempts compared to what Jordan had when he was chasing records. Durant is not taking 30 shots. He’s doing it on 17, 18 shots.”
That’s not a casual take.
Because when you talk about replacing Jordan, you’re talking about one of the most dominant runs in NBA history. Six titles. Two three-peats. A system built around isolation scoring, mid-post play, and relentless execution in big moments.
Thomas isn’t dismissing that. He’s saying Durant could step into it.
The argument centers on fit and efficiency. Thomas pointed directly at how Durant scores. He doesn’t need 30 shots to get to his numbers. He operates in that same mid-post area, the same spots where Jordan built his dominance, but does it with fewer attempts.
And the numbers back that up.
Jordan finished his career with 32,292 points on 24,537 field goal attempts. Durant recently passed him on the all-time scoring list, but he got there on just 22,180 attempts. That’s over 2,300 fewer shots.
That gap matters.
Because Thomas is looking at it and thinking, if you give Durant the same system, the same volume, the same offensive focus Jordan had in Chicago, what happens?
It’s like taking an already efficient scorer and increasing the volume within a structured system that was designed to maximize a star.
Still, this is where the debate splits.
Because replacing Jordan isn’t only about scoring. It’s about mentality, defense, leadership, and the ability to control a game when everything tightens in the Finals. Jordan built a reputation on those moments. That’s where his legacy lives as much as anywhere.
And Durant himself has acknowledged that.
After passing Jordan on the all-time scoring list, Durant didn’t try to elevate himself above him. Instead, he pointed to something else. He said Jordan’s aura is bigger than the game. That presence, that feeling when he walked into a building, it’s something Durant believes can’t be replicated.
He also gave context to Jordan’s scoring legacy.
Durant said Jordan would have likely been the first player to reach 40,000 points if he hadn’t retired twice. That matters because it shows how much of Jordan’s career was still left on the table statistically.
At the same time, Durant has been honest about differences in mentality across eras. He mentioned that Jordan eventually stepped away because he got tired of the game, while players like LeBron James have continued without that break.
And then there’s the era factor.
Thomas is talking about placing Durant into the 90s Bulls system. A slower game, more physical, less spacing, fewer three-point attempts. Durant, in today’s game, benefits from spacing and the threat of the three-ball, something Jordan didn’t rely on heavily.
At the same time, Durant’s skill set feels adaptable. His size, shooting, and ability to score over defenders translate anywhere. That’s part of why Thomas is confident in his take.
Still, it’s a hard sell for many. Because replacing Jordan means replacing everything that came with him, not just the scoring. The leadership, the defense, the control in the final moments.
Durant checks many boxes. But Jordan defined them. That’s why this debate doesn’t end. It just shifts depending on how you frame it.
