Kevin durant: overrated star

[primecougar]

I recently watched a Kevin Durant interview where he mentioned feeling frustrated in Oklahoma City (OKC). He talked about being the only player on the team who could consistently score efficiently or shoot three-pointers, which led to his decision to join the Golden State Warriors. Intrigued by this, I decided to take a closer look at Durant's playoff performances during his time in OKC. While Durant is often considered a top 15 player of all time and is hailed as a legendary scorer, the numbers tell a different story when examining his playoff track record (excluding 2012, his most successful postseason). I understand that when you take out his best year his numbers don't look as good but a person that's regarded as an all time great should have some more success in the playoff or the one thing they are known for which is scoring.

Overall Playoff Efficiency
Durant is primarily known for his scoring and efficiency. However, in the playoffs with OKC (excluding 2012), he shot an underwhelming 44% from the field and 31% from three-point range. For a player often regarded as one of the most efficient scorers ever, these numbers are disappointing. Playoff success is a key metric in defining all-time greats, and for a player with Durant's reputation, his efficiency falls short of expectations.

I do think he's a great scorer but his game lacked a lot of versatility when it came to scoring.
Limited post game: Durant struggled against physical defenses, and when forced into contested mid-range shots, his effectiveness waned.
Shot selection: His reliance on jump shooting and inability to get easy buckets in the paint in crunch time often hurt OKC when games slowed down.
One-dimensional impact: Unlike other all-time greats who could dominate in multiple ways (defense, rebounding, playmaking, leadership), Durant's contributions were narrowly focused on scoring.

this was all happening while he had a great team mate in Westbrook. Russell is a flawed player but in his prime he had so much attention on him because of how he attacked the basket. in the series against Memphis when russ was out he shot 42 from the field and was eliminated in 5 games. in the close out game at home he shot 5/21 for 23.8% 0.00% from 3 with 6 assist and 7 turnovers.

Lack of Playmaking and Ball-Handling
Another issue with Durant's playoff performances in OKC is his inability to be an effective primary ball-handler or offensive initiator. His assist-to-turnover ratios across multiple series expose this flaw. Here’s a breakdown:

2010 (vs. Lakers): 14 assists, 22 turnovers (6 games)
2011:
Round 1 (vs. Denver): 18 assists, 7 turnovers (5 games)
Round 2 (vs. Memphis): 10 assists, 16 turnovers (7 games)
Round 3 (vs. Dallas): 20 assists, 19 turnovers (5 games)
2013:
Round 1 (vs. Rockets): 36 assists, 21 turnovers (6 games)
Round 2 (vs. Grizzlies): 33 assists, 22 turnovers (5 games)
2014:
Round 1 (vs. Memphis): 24 assists, 26 turnovers (7 games)
Round 2 (vs. Clippers): 32 assists, 24 turnovers (6 games)
Round 3 (vs. Spurs): 19 assists, 20 turnovers (6 games)
2016:
Round 1 (vs. Dallas): 16 assists, 16 turnovers (5 games)
Round 2 (vs. Spurs): 24 assists, 23 turnovers (6 games)
Round 3 (vs. Warriors): 20 assists, 25 turnovers (7 games, shooting in the 30s in 4 of those games)
Across 5 series, Durant had more turnovers than assists, demonstrating clear struggles as a playmaker. Over multiple playoff runs, he failed to record even one game with 10 assists, showing his limitations as a creator and ball distributor.

Defensive Limitations
Another critique is Durant’s impact on the defensive end. He was never a dominant defender during his OKC years. While he had physical tools (length, athleticism) to be a disruptive defender, he often lacked consistent effort on that end. As a result, he contributed mainly as a scorer, which further highlighted the team’s overreliance on his offensive production.


I think Kevin Durant is super over rated as a player and that he belong in a class of player like Paul George, Melo, dame, and not with the likes of lebron, Steph, Gianni's, etc. He's not a guy that can dominate the game in many different ways. even as a scorer he can be limited.

[JustBuzzin]

I mean the guy gets linked with LeBron and Curry and he's never won a ring on his own like those other players.

He's overrated for sure, but he's still a unique player. A 7ft player with legit guard skills was something we had never seen before KD.

[Camby_Bamby]

Used to think that, but after those daggers in Cleveland and his performance against the Rockets in 2018, it made me a believer. ‘Playmaking’ isn’t his strong and that’s ok. Out of the list you made with Bron, Steph, and Giannis, Steph is the only player I trust to consistently make the right play with the game on the line.

Dude is a killer, but becoming older and riddled with injuries. However, We’ll never see another KD.

[primecougar]

Used to think that, but after those daggers in Cleveland and his performance against the Rockets in 2018, it made me a believer. ‘Playmaking’ isn’t his strong and that’s ok. Out of the list you made with Bron, Steph, and Giannis, Steph is the only player I trust to consistently make the right play with the game on the line.

Dude is a killer, but becoming older and riddled with injuries. However, We’ll never see another KD.

its easy to hit daggers when there's no pressure. he's was on the most stacked team of all time. there was a 0% chance gsw lost those games. He had Tristan Thompson or Kyle korver on him and the defence wasn't even focused on him. Gsw won before him and they won after him. all durant did was make those series lopsided.

[Primedeion]

KD isn't top 15.

[Hook_Em]

Used to think that, but after those daggers in Cleveland and his performance against the Rockets in 2018, it made me a believer. ‘Playmaking’ isn’t his strong and that’s ok. Out of the list you made with Bron, Steph, and Giannis, Steph is the only player I trust to consistently make the right play with the game on the line.

Dude is a killer, but becoming older and riddled with injuries. However, We’ll never see another KD.

His best series was vs Milwaukee in 2021 when his second leading scorer in total points was Blake Griifin against the eventual champs. Crazy he was still playing at a pantheon level post Achilles.

[Homer38]

He's a great one on one scorer and in Golden State, it was the perfect team for him but he was also on a team where the Warriors could win titles without him and they've done that before and after.

Who knows, what would have happened to him without the crazy cap spike in 2016... It's true outside of 2012, he was not special in the playoffs.... Of course he had his moments but he also had lows that can't happen for a super star player

[Homer38]

Used to think that, but after those daggers in Cleveland and his performance against the Rockets in 2018, it made me a believer. ‘Playmaking’ isn’t his strong and that’s ok. Out of the list you made with Bron, Steph, and Giannis, Steph is the only player I trust to consistently make the right play with the game on the line.

Dude is a killer, but becoming older and riddled with injuries. However, We’ll never see another KD.

its easy to hit daggers when there's no pressure. he's was on the most stacked team of all time. there was a 0% chance gsw lost those games. He had Tristan Thompson or Kyle korver on him and the defence wasn't even focused on him. Gsw won before him and they won after him. all durant did was make those series lopsided.

True and this is crazy that a player like him had so many wide open shot

Read on Twitter

And Cleveland had a great offense in 2017(poor offense outside of LBJ in 2018) but the cavs were a very poor defensive team...They were 29th in 2018,so it was a very easy matchup for him and the gameplan of Lue vs warriors was way more on Curry

[primecougar]

Used to think that, but after those daggers in Cleveland and his performance against the Rockets in 2018, it made me a believer. ‘Playmaking’ isn’t his strong and that’s ok. Out of the list you made with Bron, Steph, and Giannis, Steph is the only player I trust to consistently make the right play with the game on the line.

Dude is a killer, but becoming older and riddled with injuries. However, We’ll never see another KD.

its easy to hit daggers when there's no pressure. he's was on the most stacked team of all time. there was a 0% chance gsw lost those games. He had Tristan Thompson or Kyle korver on him and the defence wasn't even focused on him. Gsw won before him and they won after him. all durant did was make those series lopsided.

True and this is crazy that a player like him had so many wide open shot

Read on Twitter

And Cleveland had a great offense in 2017(poor offense outside of LBJ in 2018) but the cavs were a very poor defensive team...They were 29th in 2018,so it was a very easy matchup for him and the gameplan of Lue vs warriors was way more on Curry

exactly. making wide open shots isn't really something to brag out.

[BlzMwt]

This is a very rudimentary way to look Durant's playoff career... and biased. I'm super critical of Durant's move to the Warriors but this is poor analysis.

Not including his best playoff run is the bias. Your explanation isn't a justification. Why not take out his first playoff series against an overpowered title winning Laker team?

Looking at purely assist-turnover ratio without context is poor analysis. Why not look at how the Thunder team was constructed? Maybe Durant's lack of assists came from Westbrook being so ball dominant and the lack of finishers for Durant to even get an assist off of? Difficult to have high assist numbers paired with low turnovers when the defense is sagging off of Perkins and Sefolosha to come double you.

Do you think the Warriors would have been as dominant as they were if you replaced Durant with Melo? With PG? I think the majority of people would respond with a no. His combination of catch and shoot, finishing at the rim and ballhandling - coupled with his commitment to defense allowed the Warriors to be an all time great team.

Could Durant have performed better with OKC during the playoffs? Sure. Was his critique of their lack of shooters legitimate? I think so.

I don't think his "limited" success with OKC shows that he is overrated. It's all opinion but placing him somewhere in the 15-25 range in all time ranking seems to be consensus and fair.

[BlzMwt]

Used to think that, but after those daggers in Cleveland and his performance against the Rockets in 2018, it made me a believer. ‘Playmaking’ isn’t his strong and that’s ok. Out of the list you made with Bron, Steph, and Giannis, Steph is the only player I trust to consistently make the right play with the game on the line.

Dude is a killer, but becoming older and riddled with injuries. However, We’ll never see another KD.

Considering Curry's reputation for turning the ball over and making poor decisions at end of game... this makes little sense.

Combine that with Lebron's 20 year career of generally making the right play (pass to a wide open teammate or a making a game winning shot), your statement sounds even more ridiculous.

[og15]

He's a great one on one scorer and in Golden State, it was the perfect team for him but he was also on a team where the Warriors could win titles without him and they've done that before and after.

Who knows, what would have happened to him without the crazy cap spike in 2016... It's true outside of 2012, he was not special in the playoffs.... Of course he had his moments but he also had lows that can't happen for a super star player

Most, in fact, I can say probably all superstars have these lows that we always say can't happen for a superstar. It's not about whether you have lows, it's about continuing to push and have other success so people forget the lows.

KD could have found a situation where he would be on a team with more balance, more spacing, more offensive talent, and where he would be doubled less, etc without going to the Warriors.

It would have been fun to see, but he chose the Warriors path, and it did get him what he wanted. Despite all the critique of the move, we also see that it did accomplish the desired effect of boosting him in All-Time rankings, so in that sense, regardless of any of the criticism, it worked for him.

[Camby_Bamby]

Lol. Open shots. Smh. The hate is unreasonable.

His daggers against Cleveland wasn’t open. They were pull-ups in players’ faces.

[NZB2323]

I think Durant should be in the 13-21 range for all time players. If someone has him in their top 15 that’s reasonable. Top 10 isn’t.

[Homer38]

Lol. Open shots. Smh. The hate is unreasonable.

His daggers against Cleveland wasn’t open. They were pull-ups in players’ faces.

Congrats for those shots but his stats in the 2017 finals was inflated like crazy

[primecougar]

This is a very rudimentary way to look Durant's playoff career... and biased. I'm super critical of Durant's move to the Warriors but this is poor analysis.

Not including his best playoff run is the bias. Your explanation isn't a justification. Why not take out his first playoff series against an overpowered title winning Laker team?

Looking at purely assist-turnover ratio without context is poor analysis. Why not look at how the Thunder team was constructed? Maybe Durant's lack of assists came from Westbrook being so ball dominant and the lack of finishers for Durant to even get an assist off of? Difficult to have high assist numbers paired with low turnovers when the defense is sagging off of Perkins and Sefolosha to come double you.

Do you think the Warriors would have been as dominant as they were if you replaced Durant with Melo? With PG? I think the majority of people would respond with a no. His combination of catch and shoot, finishing at the rim and ballhandling - coupled with his commitment to defense allowed the Warriors to be an all time great team.

Could Durant have performed better with OKC during the playoffs? Sure. Was his critique of their lack of shooters legitimate? I think so.

I don't think his "limited" success with OKC shows that he is overrated. It's all opinion but placing him somewhere in the 15-25 range in all time ranking seems to be consensus and fair.

so you are arguing that its reasonable to expect a top 15 oat and legendary scorer to only have 1 successful playoff run before he joined the greatest team of all time? that's low expectation for a guy of durant status.

the reason I excluded Durant’s 2012 Finals run is not to skew the analysis but to evaluate whether his playoff success was sustainable across multiple seasons. Great players aren’t defined by a single impressive postseason run but by consistent excellence. Yes, 2012 was phenomenal, but one strong playoff run over seven years doesn’t align with the expectations of a player considered a top-15 all-time talent.

If we exclude his first playoff appearance against a title-winning Lakers team, as you suggest, the overall picture still doesn’t improve significantly. Even during his later years with OKC, when he should have been in his prime, Durant’s playoff inefficiencies, turnovers, and lack of success in high-stakes series remained a consistent pattern.

so you want a guy that struggled as a secondary ball handler behind russ to be on ball more? the idea that Durant deserved more on-ball opportunities ignores his own flaws as a secondary playmaker.Durant’s high turnover rate and poor assist-to-turnover ratio during the playoffs show that increasing his playmaking responsibilities would not have been a viable solution:


When Durant did have the ball more—whether due to staggered minutes with Westbrook or specific game situations—his turnover numbers consistently spiked. Across multiple playoff series, he posted a negative assist-to-turnover ratio:
2010 vs. Lakers: 14 assists to 22 turnovers over six games.
2011 vs. Memphis: Just 10 assists to 16 turnovers in seven games.
2016 vs. Golden State: 20 assists to 25 turnovers in seven games.
These numbers indicate that even when Durant had the chance to serve as a secondary initiator, he struggled to manage the responsibility effectively. Asking Durant to take on a heavier on-ball role would have exacerbated this problem. Playmaking Isn’t Durant’s Strength and will never be. blaming this on Westbrook is a poor excuse.

Westbrook’s ball-dominant style actually allowed Durant to focus on his primary strength: scoring. Westbrook absorbed defensive attention and playmaking responsibilities, theoretically giving Durant easier opportunities to score. Instead of maximizing these opportunities, Durant often struggled with efficiency, shooting just 44% FG and 31% from three across six postseason runs outside of 2012.

if we replaced durant with pg13 on those warrior teams, the result would've been the same. the warrior would've easily won the nba title. this was proven when they won after durant left.

[Camby_Bamby]

Used to think that, but after those daggers in Cleveland and his performance against the Rockets in 2018, it made me a believer. ‘Playmaking’ isn’t his strong and that’s ok. Out of the list you made with Bron, Steph, and Giannis, Steph is the only player I trust to consistently make the right play with the game on the line.

Dude is a killer, but becoming older and riddled with injuries. However, We’ll never see another KD.

Considering Curry's reputation for turning the ball over and making poor decisions at end of game... this makes little sense.

Combine that with Lebron's 20 year career of generally making the right play (pass to a wide open teammate or a making a game winning shot), your statement sounds even more ridiculous.

One of these players leads NBA history in turnovers. I know you’ll try to spin this into something positive, but there’s nothing positive about it. Curry is the only guy on that list that has a career making the right play at the end of games and during games.He makes mistakes just like Bron. Not sure what’s controversial about that.

[shi-woo]

I agree 100% and think we also need to start applying the same logic to that scrub LeBron James.

LeBron before joining forces with Champion Wade and All-NBA Bosh was trash, and barely better than Paul George (in fact, George almost single handedly beat him with Hibbert as his running mate, so maybe George is better?).

LeBron's first stint in CLE, he shot 46/32/74 in the playoffs with a 2.0 Assist to turnover ratio. And if you take out his BEST year, he shot 45/30/73. Kinda trash for what many tell me is the greatest player and offensive force of all time. Can you believe he only carried his team to 1 finals loss? Dudes trash

Now I still think LBJ was a great scorer, but his game lacked a lot of versatility. Just put your head down and pray the soft whistle comes and they don't call the push off. Dude never went in the post, never hit 3's, turned the ball over a ridiculous 4 times a game, and kept getting punked by old timers and players clearly worse than him. Dude got shown up time and time again by a guy that is known for crying and getting carted off in a wheelchair...

All of this while playing in the WEAKEST CONFERENCE EVER where the 2nd best player was essentially Jalen Duran wearing a cape.

Another critique of his, is that people called him a great leader. But I remember 2010, and I saw the quit in his eyes.

LeBron is a great player, but I really question how things would have shaked out if there wasn't that once in a life time moment of players colluding together and giving a GM 2 years of prep to form an unbeatable team with 3 ANBA players...

On a serious note though OP, you started this thread with a quote saying KD was sick and tired of having to play with a team of nonshooters and scorers, ad then proceeded to use his stats on that team, minus his best year, to prove your point. In doing so you only proved HIS point, considering the guy shot near 50/40/90 once he left OKC....

Topic worth talking about, your logic was just horrible.

[Deivork]

As a life long fan of his, yes, he is

[primecougar]

I agree 100% and think we also need to start applying the same logic to that scrub LeBron James.

LeBron before joining forces with Champion Wade and All-NBA Bosh was trash, and barely better than Paul George (in fact, George almost single handedly beat him with Hibbert as his running mate, so maybe George is better?).

LeBron's first stint in CLE, he shot 46/32/74 in the playoffs with a 2.0 Assist to turnover ratio. And if you take out his BEST year, he shot 45/30/73. Kinda trash for what many tell me is the greatest player and offensive force of all time. Can you believe he only carried his team to 1 finals loss? Dudes trash

Now I still think LBJ was a great scorer, but his game lacked a lot of versatility. Just put your head down and pray the soft whistle comes and they don't call the push off. Dude never went in the post, never hit 3's, turned the ball over a ridiculous 4 times a game, and kept getting punked by old timers and players clearly worse than him. Dude got shown up time and time again by a guy that is known for crying and getting carted off in a wheelchair...

All of this while playing in the WEAKEST CONFERENCE EVER where the 2nd best player was essentially Jalen Duran wearing a cape.

Another critique of his, is that people called him a great leader. But I remember 2010, and I saw the quit in his eyes.

LeBron is a great player, but I really question how things would have shaked out if there wasn't that once in a life time moment of players colluding together and giving a GM 2 years of prep to form an unbeatable team with 3 ANBA players...

On a serious note though OP, you started this thread with a quote saying KD was sick and tired of having to play with a team of nonshooters and scorers, ad then proceeded to use his stats on that team, minus his best year, to prove your point. In doing so you only proved HIS point, considering the guy shot near 50/40/90 once he left OKC....

Topic worth talking about, your logic was just horrible.

I don't understand why you are bringing up Hebron because even in your own stats, lebron shot better, had better assist/to numbers, and was the primary ball handler, playmaker, defender and star of his team. he has also routinely played well in the playoffs.
there's no comparison between the two of them.

durant can't be sick and tired of playing when non-shooters when he shot 31% from 3 and shooting is the only thing he really contributes.

if you have any points to counteract his struggles, please bring them up. he's a tier below the players he's always compared to. everyone arguing his 2012 run is further proving my point that he's not an A tier star. for any other top player if you remove 1 playoff run, they would still look good. over the other 6 years in okc playing with russ he managed to shoot 44 and 31 while averaging more turnovers than assists in several series.