The 10 Best NBA Players That Kevin Durant Beat In The NBA Finals

When we begin to have conversations about the 20 best players to ever play in the NBA, those are the conversations of players who are in rare air as far as their NBA careers go. Over the past 16 seasons, Kevin Durant has entered that conversation and had a career worth cementing his spot among the elite. Durant has won scoring titles, MVP awards, All-NBA Team selections, All-Star selections, and more. Perhaps the best basketball he ever played in his career was when he helped the Golden State Warriors become back-to-back NBA champions in 2017 and 2018. Durant was the best player on the court for the Warriors on those 2 title runs and was named the Finals MVP of each series.

Durant earned both of these Finals MVP awards with remarkable performances. In 2017, the Warriors dismissed the Cleveland Cavaliers, led by LeBron James, in 5 games to win the title. Durant averaged 35.2 PPG and 8.2 RPG to lead Golden State to victory. He repeated his great performance once again in 2018 in a sweep of those same Cavaliers. Today, we will look at the 10 best players that opposed Durant from those 2017 and 2018 Cavaliers teams. Durant’s list of opposition will give much more insight into the context of each dominant Finals win.

These are the 10 best NBA players that Kevin Durant beat in the NBA Finals.

10. Iman Shumpert

Iman Shumpert was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers from the second half of 2015 through 2018. He was on the floor when the team won the NBA championship in 2016 and also on the floor when they were manhandled by the Warriors in 2017. Shumpert began his NBA career with the New York Knicks in 2011-12. Shumpert was a source of energy with the Carmelo Anthony-led Knicks teams, who were playoff contenders in the 2010s. He was never a double-digit scorer, but he sparked big moments with timely defense and a high basketball IQ.

The 2017 NBA Finals were by no means a shining moment in Iman Shumpert’s career. Shumpert saw time in all 5 games of the series and averaged just 3.6 PPG and 2.0 RPG. He shot 4-17 from the field in the series. By the time the NBA Finals came around in 2018, Iman Shumpert was left off of the roster for the championship series. Shumpert would appear in just 77 games over his last 3 seasons for 4 different teams and retired in 2021 after a 10-year career.

9. Kyle Korver

Kyle Korver is considered by many to be one of the best 3-point shooters of all time. In his 17-year NBA career, Korver led the NBA in 3-point percentage 4 times and was selected as an All-Star with the Atlanta Hawks in 2014-15. As a 3-point specialist, Korver was a perfect teammate for LeBron James and the Cavaliers during their 2017 and 2018 title runs, as James loves to have effective shooters next to him on the court.

In the 2017 Finals, Korver’s efficiency was far from the status it was earlier in his career. Korver shot just 5-16 from beyond the arc for the series. He averaged just 4.4 PPG despite getting the 5th most minutes of everyone on the team. The story was the same for the 2018 NBA Finals as well. This time, Korver received much less playing time and shot even worse from the field in this series. Korver went 1-16 in 4 games and scored a total of 6 points for the series.

8. Richard Jefferson

Richard Jefferson was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers for both the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Jefferson began his career with the New Jersey Nets, where he became a valuable piece for a team that went to back-to-back NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003. Although he was never named an All-Star, Jefferson enjoyed some individual success at well and a few 20.0 PPG seasons to add.

When Jefferson joined the Cavaliers in 2016, he was 35 years old and on the last legs of his career. He won an NBA championship with the Cavs in 2016 and appeared in all 7 games with 5.6 PPG and 5.3 RPG. In 2018, the Cavaliers were severely outmatched by the Warriors. Once again, Jefferson appeared in all 5 games off the bench and ended the series with 5.8 PPG and 2.4 RPG. Jefferson would play 20 games with the Denver Nuggets in 2018 before retiring from the game at age 37.

7. Rodney Hood

With the Cavaliers, Rodney Hood appeared in just 66 games for them between the 2018 and 2019 seasons. Hood lands here on our list due to outplaying the others on the list in the 2018 Finals. Hood is an 8-year veteran of the NBA and hasn’t played since the end of the 2021-22 season. He has played for 5 teams in 8 seasons, with Cleveland being the 2nd stop of his career in 2018 and 2019.

In just the 2nd time he had been in the postseason, Rodney Hood was given decent minutes off the bench for Cleveland with less-than-stellar production. In 17 games, Hood averaged 5.4 PPG on 42.4% shooting. In the Finals, Hood was given decent minutes again in the 4-game sweep but failed to produce at a high level. He averaged 6.8 PPG and 3.8 RPG in 56 total minutes played.

6. Larry Nance Jr.

Larry Nance Jr. is an 8-year NBA veteran who played for the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2018 through 2021. Nance was traded from the Lakers midway through the 2018 season at the behest of LeBron James, undoubtedly. Nance Jr. is an athletic and streaky forward who has made a career of coming off the bench for whichever franchise he plays for. In 24 games for the Cavs during the 2017-18 season, Nance contributed 8.9 PPG and 7.0 RPG.

For the playoffs, Nance Jr. was a bit less ineffective. He was still a solid rebounder, but his scoring numbers were cut in half over 20 playoff games. Nance would play off the bench in all 4 games of the 2018 Finals as well. He played 68 total minutes in the series and averaged 5.8 PPG and 7.0 RPG. Although his numbers were considerably better than the rest of the playoffs, it bore no meaning when it came to the outcome of the series and the Warriors’ 4-game sweep.

5. Tristan Thompson

Tristan Thompson debuted for the Cleveland Cavaliers as a rookie in the 2011-12 season. He immediately proved to be their most available and consistent big man through his last season with them in 2019-20. Thompson wasn’t much of an offensive threat, but definitely a tough rebounder and physical defender. He was with the Cavs on their entire 4-year run to the NBA Finals, including the 2 losses to Kevin Durant.

In the 2017 NBA Finals, the Warriors got the best of the Cavaliers in 5 games. Thompson saw plenty of time on the floor but barely got any shots off on offense, shooting 12-22 in the series. He averaged 5.6 PPG and 5.8 RPG as the Cavaliers fell. In 2018, Thompson was just a bit more effective as there was nothing anyone could do in the 4-game sweep. Thompson averaged 6.6 PPG and 5.2 RPG in the series and shot the ball at 52.0%.

4. J.R. Smith

I know it’s hard to believe that a player who cost them Game 1 of the 2018 Finals can be considered the 4th-best player of those teams, but that is exactly what J.R. Smith was. Smith was with Cleveland from the second half of the 2014-15 season through the 2018-19 season. Smith was consistent and productive for the Cavaliers, who desperately needed it from the guys who weren’t their Big 3.

Aside from the 3 players ahead of him on this list, J.R. Smith was Cleveland’s only double-digit scorer. In the 2017 NBA Finals, Smith played almost 30,0 minutes per night and averaged 11.8 PPG. He was Cleveland’s best 3-point shooter in this series as well, with a 58.1% 3-point percentage. He was Cleveland’s 3rd-highest scorer in 2018 but averaged only 9.5 PPG, showing how outmatched and overpowered by the Golden State Warriors.

3. Kevin Love

Kevin Love was the addition in 2016 that put the Cavaliers over the top as a title contender. Love spent the first 6 seasons of his career, where he became a 3-time All-Star and one of the NBA’s best rebounders. Love was traded to the Cavaliers prior to the 2014-15 season and was a part of their 4-year run to the NBA Finals. In 2017 and 2018, Love was named an All-Star for Cleveland as they met Durant and the Warriors later on in the NBA Finals both seasons.

In 2017 and 2018, it was clear that the matchups were going to continue to be Warriors and Cavaliers at the season’s end. Love was a big reason for this, as it was superteam vs. superteam for league supremacy. Love was fantastic all-around in 2017, as he averaged 16.0 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 2.2 SPG, and 1.0 BPG. The firepower of the Warriors proved far too much for Cleveland in 2017. The 2018 Finals were no different. Love did well as the team’s second option. He averaged 19.0 PPG and 11.3 RPG this time, but the Warriors proved to be far too much once again in a 4-game sweep. Love remains in Cleveland for the 2022-23 season as one of their main options off the bench.

2. Kyrie Irving

Drafted No. 1 overall by the Cavaliers in 2011, Kyrie Irving always dreamed about rewarding them with a championship in his career. He was able to get 3 chances at it from 2015 through 2017 with the Cavaliers alongside LeBron James. He helped Cleveland win their first championship in 2016 and became a 4-time All-Star in his 6 seasons with the team. Irving’s time in Cleveland ended in drama and jealousy, but the memories he made in the uniform are unforgettable.

After a performance for the ages in the 2016 NBA Finals, Irving helped the Cavaliers to one more NBA Finals appearance in 2017 before being traded to Boston. Irving stepped up big time in 2017 with 29.4 PPG, 4.0 RPG, and 4.4 APG. The performance was more than enough with James alongside him to compete with any team on the Finals stage. That is beside the Warriors, who, led by Durant, dominated the Cavaliers and Irving in 5 games.

1. LeBron James

LeBron James is not only the best player Kevin Durant has beaten in the NBA Finals. He is also the best player in Cavaliers history and one of the greatest players to ever play the game. Born in Akron, Ohio, James realized his dream when he was drafted by his hometown team in 2003. LeBron spent years in Cleveland chasing a championship before spurring the Cavs for the Heat in the summer of 2011. James would return in 2015 to deliver on his promise. James led the Cavs to their first title in 2016 in one of the most epic series in NBA history.

After James’ 2016 Finals run, his time with the Cavaliers was dwindling down. He was the best overall player on the floor by far in both 2017 and 2018 but didn’t do enough to lead his team to victory. That wasn’t for a lack of effort on James’ part, as in 2017, he averaged 33.6 PPG, 12.0 RPG, and 10.0 APG. He also added 1.4 SPG and 1.0 BPG to boot. In 2018, James erupted in the NBA Finals again in a losing effort. He averaged 34.0 PPG, 8.5 RPG, and 10.0 APG in the series, but the Cavs were swept by a far superior Warriors team.

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