Starting a Team- Jerry West vs Kevin Durant

[Matt15]

Who would you rather build a team around in today’s league?

[70sFan]

Both were incredible in their primes, both had durability problems.

The key factor is that West lived and died with the Lakers, he gave his life for this franchise. Meanwhile Durant left the team that drafted him despite good situation and then he quited in the most favorable situation possible, breaking up the greatest team in NBA history.

Give me West without any doubt. I don't think there is much difference between their on-court impact (I even may prefer West here) and the difference off-court is gigantic.

[rand]

Who would you rather build a team around in today’s league?

Are we projecting what West might have looked like had he developed in the modern game? If not I don't see how anyone could pick West given all the differences between his era and today. And of course if we are making that projection then another level of speculation gets layered on top of what complexity the question already holds.

Both were incredible in their primes, both had durability problems.

The key factor is that West lived and died with the Lakers, he gave his life for this franchise. Meanwhile Durant left the team that drafted him despite good situation and then he quited in the most favorable situation possible, breaking up the greatest team in NBA history.

Give me West without any doubt. I don't think there is much difference between their on-court impact (I even may prefer West here) and the difference off-court is gigantic.

West played in an era where it was far more common for superstars to play for one franchise for their entire career. Would he have been as devoted to a single franchise if he was in the league today? And would he be as devoted to that franchise if it was in a backwater market instead of LA?

I'm not going to pronounce a judgment on whether West would match KD's on-court impact since West's career ended before I was born. Instead I'll just say IMO KD was the best player in the NBA at least in 2019 and 2021 (and maybe in 2017 and 2018, possibly even still today) and ask whether you think West would have been the best player in the league in those seasons, and in evaluating West's on-court impact in today's league how you handle the question of the differences between the game in West's era and today.

[TheGOATRises007]

Both were incredible in their primes, both had durability problems.

The key factor is that West lived and died with the Lakers, he gave his life for this franchise. Meanwhile Durant left the team that drafted him despite good situation and then he quited in the most favorable situation possible, breaking up the greatest team in NBA history.

Give me West without any doubt. I don't think there is much difference between their on-court impact (I even may prefer West here) and the difference off-court is gigantic.

Leaving the Warriors is akin to quitting the Warriors?

How?

[70sFan]

Both were incredible in their primes, both had durability problems.

The key factor is that West lived and died with the Lakers, he gave his life for this franchise. Meanwhile Durant left the team that drafted him despite good situation and then he quited in the most favorable situation possible, breaking up the greatest team in NBA history.

Give me West without any doubt. I don't think there is much difference between their on-court impact (I even may prefer West here) and the difference off-court is gigantic.

Leaving the Warriors is akin to quitting the Warriors?

How?

I'm not sure I understand the question.

[70sFan]

Who would you rather build a team around in today’s league?

Are we projecting what West might have looked like had he developed in the modern game? If not I don't see how anyone could pick West given all the differences between his era and today. And of course if we are making that projection then another level of speculation gets layered on top of what complexity the question already holds.

Both were incredible in their primes, both had durability problems.

The key factor is that West lived and died with the Lakers, he gave his life for this franchise. Meanwhile Durant left the team that drafted him despite good situation and then he quited in the most favorable situation possible, breaking up the greatest team in NBA history.

Give me West without any doubt. I don't think there is much difference between their on-court impact (I even may prefer West here) and the difference off-court is gigantic.

West played in an era where it was far more common for superstars to play for one franchise for their entire career. Would he have been as devoted to a single franchise if he was in the league today? And would he be as devoted to that franchise if it was in a backwater market instead of LA?

I'm not going to pronounce a judgment on whether West would match KD's on-court impact since West's career ended before I was born. Instead I'll just say IMO KD was the best player in the NBA at least in 2019 and 2021 (and maybe in 2017 and 2018, possibly even still today) and ask whether you think West would have been the best player in the league in those seasons, and in evaluating West's on-court impact in today's league how you handle the question of the differences between the game in West's era and today.

It's true to some degree that superstars played in one franchise more often back then. At the same time though, it wasn't uncommon to see stars changing their teams - Wilt did it two times in his prime, once by his own choice.

Lakers franchise wasn't as pronounced in the 1960s as it is now. So "big market" logic doesn't apply here. Meanwhile Durant decided to leave his team in two extremely favorable situations.

I also don't think as highly about Durant as you do. He's been extremely good for a long time, but I don't think he was ever clearly the best player in the league. I wouldn't have him as the best in any of 2017-21 seasons to be honest.

[feyki]

Impact wise, Durant by a bit. Durant also has better longevity(probably will?), but with a slightly better force on the court while you're worse on sportive ethic and making better the players around, it towards to West.

Durant also has good work ethic and ATG mental toughness, btw, like West. But probably besides Lebron,Malone,Wilt and Shaq, he's the worst sportive ethic player of the legends.

My choice is West.

[RCM88x]

Both players have durability concerns which makes this interesting. I tend to rank West in the 10-11 range while KD is still knocking on the top 20 door.

Might lean KD just because he's more of a unicorn, that being said I think West is much more capable as a team "leader".

[penbeast0]

For their era, West. For this era, you have to assume West will be a superior 3 point shooter (arguably the best shooting range of his era and good FT% should translate to good 3 point shooting in this era)and accept that he's a scoring point with good size in the Steph Curry mode rather than trying to play him at the 2. His main advantages over Durant are based on his personality, he was much more of a inspiring teammate and played with more fire.

For Durant, his main advantages are his size and durability. His height gives his team more options, while West would be undersized guarding wings in this era, Durant is an oversized 3 with the size to guard 4's. Plus, before the Covid crisis where almost everyone has missed large chunks of time, he was healthier than West.

I'd take West personally, particularly for a small market where Durant has proved he will leave looking for a superteam while West is an open question but it's' reasonably close.

[Rich Michmond]

Both were incredible in their primes, both had durability problems.

The key factor is that West lived and died with the Lakers, he gave his life for this franchise. Meanwhile Durant left the team that drafted him despite good situation and then he quited in the most favorable situation possible, breaking up the greatest team in NBA history.

Give me West without any doubt. I don't think there is much difference between their on-court impact (I even may prefer West here) and the difference off-court is gigantic.

Leaving the Warriors is akin to quitting the Warriors?

How?

I'm not sure I understand the question.

Quitting has negative connotations, it's when a player more or less explicitly refuses to play and/or stops caring. I'd say Rondo quit on Dallas or Vince on Toronto. Leaving is more neutral and I suppose Eddy doesn't view Durant's decision to sign with Brooklyn as blatant quitting but more of a free agency decision.

[feyki]

I bet Durant would not leave the OKC, If Harden stayed instead of Westbrook.

[No-more-rings]

Would rather have West. I think his defense was more consistent, and i just think him having better guard skills than KD helps give him the edge too.