Will Kevin Durant ever win a Championship as the best player on his team?

[scrabbarista]

Curry > Durant

but '17 and '18 were kind of 50/50. Neither guy was really "the best player," in the traditional mold.

But, if you forced me to choose, it would be Curry, for sure.

But it was neither.

The answer to the OP is like almost 99% certainly not, unless you erroneously believe he has already done it, as many seem to do.

[dhsilv2]

Durant was the best player on Golden State during their two Championships. It's fine if you want ding Durant by saying he only won with an immensely talented lineup that included one HOFer that was basically on his same level - a 1B to his 1A, and he also had two other HOFers in Draymond and Klay. But don't rewrite history to say that Curry was better than Durant in those seasons. In particular, you can't discount the work Durant was doing on defense whereas Curry always had to be protected a bit.

What I'll never fully get.

Curry was the best player in the league before KD joined the warriors.

The warriors were better with Curry on and KD off than KD on and Curry off.

All the major tracking data we have says Curry was better.

Opposing defenses were focused on Curry and not KD.

But there's a group of fans that want to say KD was better. I don't get it. Are points per game and iso scoring just THAT hard to see past?

[NBA_is_cringe]

lol people in their feelings saying Durant wasn’t the best player on GSW continues despite all the evidence and statistics to the contrary.

Is it because he embarrassed Lebron in those series?

he embarrassed himself by joining gsw

[dhsilv2]

How was Tatum clearly the best player on the Celtics last year? Brown won ECF MVP and Finals MVP.

Also, the play by play data shows that Durant had a higher +/- in the 2018 playoffs than Curry. Curry’s playoff numbers were down across the board in 2018 from 2017.

Maybe Curry was the best player in 2017 and Durant was the best player in 2018?

If you wanted to give it to KD due to Curry missing the first 6 games of the playoffs and getting himself back into playing form. I wouldn't hate you for it. He was still the better player in general imo, but that's at least reasonable. But even if you just were to take the games they both played in, Curry had the higher plus minus in 2018 as well.

[dhsilv2]

He's too old now.

He was the best Finals player on the 73-9 team though.

I would say he is the best Finals scorer, not only in these 2 finals but overall in NBA history. But best scorer does not make him best player but best scorer do make him FMVPs. Casual fans or medias could not tell the difference between the two and that's ok. Being a great scorer still make you an all time great

Mr Jerry West might have a word for you.

[floppymoose]

No, KD was never the best player in GS. OP has it right. The team was fine without KD and struggled without Curry.

[CIN-C-STAR]

No.
KD’s best moments as a bus driver are a gentleman’s sweep in the Finals playing alongside two other future MVPs and an All Star, and almost beating Giannis once in the second round.
Fun to watch though.

[TheDimeDropper]

Roll credits for the finals in 2017 and 2018. Cleveland prioritized stopping Curry over stopping anyone else. KD was great those finals, but its like Jaylen Brown's finals MVP for 2024, give credit to the player who won it but also give credit to the player who took the main attention of the defense to allow that player to cause havoc as well. And currently, could KD win as the best? Sure, but it's far more likely he doesn't. He just isn't an elite playmaker or defensive anchor. I think it'd be a team that needs an elite scorer to put them over the top. To be fair I'm not sure that exists currently. Especially given the elite teams and what any trade would require to get him there.

[TheGOATRises007]

No that window has passed and Curry was clearly better than KD during their run together.

[Optms]

Only tells me how great Curry is. How many GOATs can take a back seat in the middle of a dynasty to sacrifice their game. More importantly make it work? The most selfless superstar ever. No green needed.

Dubs may not be light years but Curry was and still is.

[nate33]

Durant was the best player on Golden State during their two Championships. It's fine if you want ding Durant by saying he only won with an immensely talented lineup that included one HOFer that was basically on his same level - a 1B to his 1A, and he also had two other HOFers in Draymond and Klay. But don't rewrite history to say that Curry was better than Durant in those seasons. In particular, you can't discount the work Durant was doing on defense whereas Curry always had to be protected a bit.

What I'll never fully get.

Curry was the best player in the league before KD joined the warriors.

The warriors were better with Curry on and KD off than KD on and Curry off.

All the major tracking data we have says Curry was better.

Opposing defenses were focused on Curry and not KD.

But there's a group of fans that want to say KD was better. I don't get it. Are points per game and iso scoring just THAT hard to see past?

Points per game. Iso scoring. TS%. Rebounds. Blocks. WS. WS/48. PER. BPM. One-on-one defense. Team defense. Durant was ahead of Curry in all of them. To be fair, part of it was Curry taking a step back for the good of team chemistry. But in the playoffs, when offensive sets break down and teams must rely more on one-on-one scoring, Durant emerged as the more important player.

[dhsilv2]

Durant was the best player on Golden State during their two Championships. It's fine if you want ding Durant by saying he only won with an immensely talented lineup that included one HOFer that was basically on his same level - a 1B to his 1A, and he also had two other HOFers in Draymond and Klay. But don't rewrite history to say that Curry was better than Durant in those seasons. In particular, you can't discount the work Durant was doing on defense whereas Curry always had to be protected a bit.

What I'll never fully get.

Curry was the best player in the league before KD joined the warriors.

The warriors were better with Curry on and KD off than KD on and Curry off.

All the major tracking data we have says Curry was better.

Opposing defenses were focused on Curry and not KD.

But there's a group of fans that want to say KD was better. I don't get it. Are points per game and iso scoring just THAT hard to see past?

Points per game. Iso scoring. TS%. Rebounds. Blocks. WS. WS/48. PER. BPM. One-on-one defense. Team defense. Durant was ahead of Curry in all of them. To be fair, part of it was Curry taking a step back for the good of team chemistry. But in the playoffs, when offensive sets break down and teams must rely more on one-on-one scoring, Durant emerged as the more important player.

I'll give you that KD was an important part of the warrior's defense, but the rest of this doesn't pass the eye test. KD was getting these great TS%'s and other stats because he'd never seen such poor defense on him. And that was directly the result of Curry's impact and that opposing coaches decided it was better to give easy shots to KD over even difficult shots to Curry. And you'll see that all play out when you see KD on with Curry off. If Curry were the traditional point guard who created through on ball passing vs Curry's unique off ball movement, everyone would be raving about how great his play making was. But because Curry creates in a unique way, fans want to just ignore it.

And I don't want to sound like we're dismissing KD. He's a former MVP, he's one of the greats and he's a better iso scorer than Curry...but Curry is also an elite iso scorer too. The two played to their strengths and to what the defense gave them. But the offense was built around Curry and defenses were very clearly built to stop Curry.

In short, I get why people see the good shooting and scoring and give it to KD to some degree. But the context here is really hard to get past. Both teams knew who the best player was.

[KnicksGadfly]

KD’s Warriors playoff exploits are a bit overrated, considering how much attention was on Steph, how the system was built around Steph, and how much energy he got to save by being on a stacked team. After a whole season where he got to coast, I’m not too impressed when he won by attrition.

I feel like the one time where KD was actually forced to go all out and use all his talents was in the Nets Bucks series

[HMFFL]

No, KD was never the best player in GS. OP has it right. The team was fine without KD and struggled without Curry.

Sure, Flop.

Do you actually believe your Warriors win those titles without KD? 

Why did you lose to Cleveland in 2016 without KD?

It appears that you struggled without KD, but you said "the team" was fine without KD and struggled without Steph. So, back to 2016, why did you lose without KD?




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[nate33]

What I'll never fully get.

Curry was the best player in the league before KD joined the warriors.

The warriors were better with Curry on and KD off than KD on and Curry off.

All the major tracking data we have says Curry was better.

Opposing defenses were focused on Curry and not KD.

But there's a group of fans that want to say KD was better. I don't get it. Are points per game and iso scoring just THAT hard to see past?

Points per game. Iso scoring. TS%. Rebounds. Blocks. WS. WS/48. PER. BPM. One-on-one defense. Team defense. Durant was ahead of Curry in all of them. To be fair, part of it was Curry taking a step back for the good of team chemistry. But in the playoffs, when offensive sets break down and teams must rely more on one-on-one scoring, Durant emerged as the more important player.

I'll give you that KD was an important part part of the warrior's defense, but the rest of this doesn't pass the eye test. KD was getting these great TS%'s and other stats because he'd never seen such poor defense on him. And that was directly the result of Curry's impact and that opposing coaches decided it was better to give easy shots to KD over even difficult shots to Curry. And you'll see that all play out when you see KD on with Curry off. If Curry were the traditional point guard who created through on ball passing vs Curry's unique off ball movement, everyone would be raving about how great his play making was. But because Curry creates in a unique way, fans want to just ignore it.

And I don't want to sound like we're dismissing KD. He's a former MVP, he's one of the greats and he's a better iso scorer than Curry...but Curry is also an elite iso scorer too. The two played to their strengths and to what the defense gave them. But the offense was built around Curry and defenses were very clearly built to stop Curry.

In short, I get why people see the good shooting and scoring and give it to KD to some degree. But the context here is really hard to get past. Both teams knew who the best player was.

I think you are making fair arguments and I hope I don't come off as being dismissive of Curry, one of my favorite players of all time.

But I think you ought to consider that Curry's superior on/off numbers probably have something to do with him having a system built around him and all of his teammates being complementary to Curry's playing style. Draymond Green, for example, would be somewhat of an offensive liability on most teams, but when alongside Curry in Golden State's motion offense, his greatest offensive skill, setting screens, is maximized to its highest potential.

The longer Durant was with the team, the more his teammates adapted to his skillset and the better Durant's on/off numbers became relative to Curry. In their first season together, Curry's on/off was +17.2 and Durant's was +8.7. By their third season, it was Curry +16.2 and Durant +16.1.

[dhsilv2]

Points per game. Iso scoring. TS%. Rebounds. Blocks. WS. WS/48. PER. BPM. One-on-one defense. Team defense. Durant was ahead of Curry in all of them. To be fair, part of it was Curry taking a step back for the good of team chemistry. But in the playoffs, when offensive sets break down and teams must rely more on one-on-one scoring, Durant emerged as the more important player.

I'll give you that KD was an important part part of the warrior's defense, but the rest of this doesn't pass the eye test. KD was getting these great TS%'s and other stats because he'd never seen such poor defense on him. And that was directly the result of Curry's impact and that opposing coaches decided it was better to give easy shots to KD over even difficult shots to Curry. And you'll see that all play out when you see KD on with Curry off. If Curry were the traditional point guard who created through on ball passing vs Curry's unique off ball movement, everyone would be raving about how great his play making was. But because Curry creates in a unique way, fans want to just ignore it.

And I don't want to sound like we're dismissing KD. He's a former MVP, he's one of the greats and he's a better iso scorer than Curry...but Curry is also an elite iso scorer too. The two played to their strengths and to what the defense gave them. But the offense was built around Curry and defenses were very clearly built to stop Curry.

In short, I get why people see the good shooting and scoring and give it to KD to some degree. But the context here is really hard to get past. Both teams knew who the best player was.

I think you are making fair arguments and I hope I don't come off as being dismissive of Curry, one of my favorite players of all time.

But I think you ought to consider that Curry's superior on/off numbers probably have something to do with him having a system built around him and all of his teammates being complementary to Curry's playing style. Draymond Green, for example, would be somewhat of an offensive liability on most teams, but when alongside Curry in Golden State's motion offense, his greatest offensive skill, setting screens, is maximized to its highest potential.

The longer Durant was with the team, the more his teammates adapted to his skillset and the better Durant's on/off numbers became relative to Curry. In their first season together, Curry's on/off was +17.2 and Durant's was +8.7. By their third season, it was Curry +16.2 and Durant +16.1.

I think the point however is that KD can't generate a system where he's that guy in terms of on/off. He hasn't done it anywhere. The greatness of a player imo is what's the MOST we can get to maximize a player's value add. And Curry is perhaps the GOAT in that sense.

And again what I'd focus on is Curry on KD off vs KD on Curry off. They missed enough games each where we got some great samples.

And not to repeat but this is why Curry won back to back MVP's before KD joined. He'd already pretty clearly established himself as the better player. So why wouldn't Kerr continue to run a system around the better player? Or the guy who's proven at the time to be the greatest offensive ceiling raiser we'd ever seen?

[drchaos]

KD was the best player on the Warriors when he won with them.

Despite an injury to Kyrie he was less than an inch to beating the Bucks in the playoffs on the way to a championship with them.

[TheGeneral99]

Durant was the best player on Golden State during their two Championships. It's fine if you want ding Durant by saying he only won with an immensely talented lineup that included one HOFer that was basically on his same level - a 1B to his 1A, and he also had two other HOFers in Draymond and Klay. But don't rewrite history to say that Curry was better than Durant in those seasons. In particular, you can't discount the work Durant was doing on defense whereas Curry always had to be protected a bit.

Durant was the most dangerous iso scorer, but Curry was the engine of that team who attracted so much attention that he made Durant's life super easy.

[GiannisAnte34]

only on RealGM is Jayson Tatum a bus driver but not Kevin Durant lol

[Lalouie]

too late now