To what degree did KD prove himself as a playoff performer during the 17-19 seasons?

[Cavsfansince84]

If you were to compare him to other players normally thought of as top 20 players of all time. Think top 3-4 runs for them. This isn't an anti-KD thread either so plz no 'omg, not another KD hating thread' sort of histrionics. Take into account how you view the runs as a whole.

[No-more-rings]

Some won’t like this answer, but i’ll say little to none. He was what 28 or 29 come his first playoff run with Golden State? Not saying players can’t turn a new leaf at that age but I don’t see how he really improved on offense, he just played with goat spacing and that was really the difference and it’s not like he didn’t have some struggles in 2018.

[Stan]

A top 3 player joined a 73 win team with the reigning MVP & 2 other All-NBA players that had already achieved tremendous success together. He honestly didn't prove anything to me, I learned much more about Wade in '06, Kobe in '09 & '10 and Kawhi last year than I did about Durant on the Warriors.

I'm sure some people will disagree, but I 100% believe going to the Warriors hurt Durant's standing. Sure, maybe 50 years from now he can point to the 2 FMVP's, but if we're talking strictly playoff performance, I don't see how you can take Durant over the players I mentioned earlier when he didn't accomplish what they did without joining a 73 win team. And it's not even like he was balling out in defeat on OKC, outside 2012 his playoff performance was kind of spotty for an ATG, while his efficiency always nosedived

[LukaTheGOAT]

I definitely trust Wade and Kobe more overall as floor-raisers, and as people who can be primary playmakers to elevate an offense. I think what KD showed in GSW was that he can gel with other start talent really well, and is game is very portable. He is a very good ceiling-raiser, just don't task him with creating a ton of opportunities for his teammates.

[Dr Positivity]

I'm not a Durant fan but he's proven to be one of the best Finals performers in history. It is what it is.

[NO-KG-AI]

The Warriors were such another level that I don’t think any real conclusions can be drawn about what any of them did together, other than that they obviously all can fit well in an ultra stacked team, which isn’t always a given or easy, and is a great quality/skill unto itself.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

[McBubbles]

I'm not a Durant fan but he's proven to be one of the best Finals performers in history. It is what it is.

How? He lit up the 21st and 29th ranked defences whilst having a ridiculous amount of spacing and not being the primary source of defensive attention in 17 and 18, then got injured in 19.

Doesn't scream ATG to me.

[The Master]

Durant before joining Warriors:
- 29-10-7 with 4.4 TOV on 53.1 %TS against Memphis (2013)
- 27-8-3 with 3.3 TOV on 56.0 %TS against Spurs (2014)
- 30-8-3 with 3.6 TOV on 53.9 %TS against Warriors (2016)

While KD has better longevity than Curry/Harden/Kawhi, he's all time-great scorer and he proved he's perhaps much better fit to stacked contenders than Harden, I don't think his titles with Warriors proved that much for Durant as a legitimate dominant facilitator and first option on offense on a championship team. For me, context-adjusted, his best postseason is still 2012.

I just don't think these titles with Warriors prove that KD would be able to achieve more with Rockets than Harden 18-20 or Curry 14-16 with Warriors. He's definitely able to lead a team to a title, but he hasn't proved he's better in that regard than Harden/Curry/Kawhi.

[Odinn21]

First; if the scale on 5 is from Karl Malone to Michael Jordan, Wade is more likely a 4. Not 3. In terms of being playoff performer, he was better than Bryant.

Second; we don't know. The Warriors spell might made him a better playoff performer but we don't know that because we're yet to see Durant play a single game after Golden State, let alone a playoff game.
If Durant plays like he did equally well in playoffs equally to his GS spell when he comes back, then we can (and would) say these things about him.
Looking at solely his OKC and GS days, he's still a player joined a historic team to just enjoy that environment.

[Fadeaway_J]

I definitely trust Wade and Kobe more overall as floor-raisers, and as people who can be primary playmakers to elevate an offense. I think what KD showed in GSW was that he can gel with other start talent really well, and is game is very portable. He is a very good ceiling-raiser, just don't task him with creating a ton of opportunities for his teammates.

Pretty much this. The talent on that team would be tough to put together in a fantasy draft. What he did in that environment has almost no applicability to even a typical really good team (like the ones KD played on before). It does show how well his skill set allows him to mesh with other stars, but I don't think that was a huge surprise anyway.

[Threetimes10]

Proves that he scales really well when he's on a ridiculously talented team gainst poor defensive teams.

[Statlanta]

The only thing he proved was that he is less volatile than Steph(which doesn't make him necessarily better)

[Cavsfansince84]

First; if the scale on 5 is from Karl Malone to Michael Jordan, Wade is more likely a 4. Not 3. In terms of being playoff performer, he was better than Bryant.

Second; we don't know. The Warriors spell might made him a better playoff performer but we don't know that because we're yet to see Durant play a single game after Golden State, let alone a playoff game.
If Durant plays like he did equally well in playoffs equally to his GS spell when he comes back, then we can (and would) say these things about him.
Looking at solely his OKC and GS days, he's still a player joined a historic team to just enjoy that environment.

tbf, I considered putting him into the 4 slot but decided to throw him in with Kobe because I didn't want it to become a Wade/Kobe thread. Maybe I should have just left him off but what's done is done.