Top 50 NBA players from last 50 years: Kevin Durant ranks No. 13 (2024)

Editor's Note: As part of a new series for his podcast, "What’s Wright with Nick Wright," FOX Sports commentator Nick Wright is ranking the 50 best NBA players of the last 50 years. The countdown continues today with player No. 13, Kevin Durant.

Kevin Durant’s career highlights:

• Two-time Finals MVP
• 2014 league MVP
• 12-time All-Star
• Six-time first-team All-NBA, four-time second team
• Four-time scoring champion
• 2008 Rookie of the Year
• 2013 50-40-90 club

Kevin Durant isn’t the greatest scorer or shooter in NBA history. But he might be the most complete offering of both.

In short, KD shoots better than Michael Jordan did, and scores more than Stephen Curry does. The only player approaching Durant’s offensive versatility and efficiency is Larry Bird, except the more athletic KD is a superior shot creator and, thanks to the difference in eras, makes as many 3s per game as his iconic predecessor attempted.

"He’s one of the most gifted scorers and one of the most naturally graceful basketball players we’ve ever seen," Wright said.

Alas, this is far from the narrative shaping Durant's career. How (exceptionally well) he plays basketball has often taken a back seat to whom he’s playing with, although that wasn’t always the case.

The last star of the SuperSonics franchise made his NBA debut just weeks after his 19th birthday and was an instant bucket. He scored 24-plus in three of his first four games, tallied 42 points and 13 rebounds in his rookie finale (on 18-of-25 shooting) and averaged 20 for the season.

By Year 3, Durant and Russell Westbrook had transformed the relocated Thunder into a contender. The 6-foot-10 small forward won the first of four scoring titles in 2010 (only Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain have more) and put the league on notice with his first postseason series. Just 21 years old, KD erupted for 29 and 19 in his third playoff game before leading OKC to a 21-point win over the defending-champion Lakers two days later. It was the only double-digit loss of L.A.’s second title run.

"Kevin Durant, much like LeBron [James], basically kicked ass in the playoffs as a child and never stopped," Wright said.

In 2011, Durant dropped 41 to open the playoffs and 41 again to eliminate the Nuggets. He closed out the Grizzlies with 39 and 9 and went for another 40 versus the Mavericks in his conference finals debut. In 2012, Durant and his young teammates ripped through a host of aging Hall of Famers on the Mavs, Lakers and Spurs to reach their first Finals.

The Thunder were so hot they were actually favorites heading into the 2012 Finals against the superteam Heat. Those odds looked justified after Durant put up 36-8-4 in a decisive Game 1 victory. While KD would go on to have a strong series – he averaged 31 and 6 on 55% shooting – Miami proved to be the deeper team as it eked out three wins by six points or less.

Durant registered a 50-40-90 campaign in 2012-13 and propelled OKC to the West’s top seed, only to have Westbrook suffer a season-ending injury in the first round.

KD was even better the following season, breaking Jordan’s record for consecutive 25-point games and averaging a career-high 32.0 for the season. He was a near-unanimous choice for league MVP ahead of James, whom he finished runner-up to three times previously. Despite Durant’s offensive prowess, the Thunder struggled to get out of the early rounds and were eliminated in the conference finals by the Spurs.

After KD missed most of the next season with a broken foot, he was back in the conference finals in 2016.

"And this is where Durant’s career gets a little complicated," Wright said.

The Thunder won 11 of their first 15 playoff games and were one win away from clinching their second Finals berth following back-to-back blowout wins over the 73-win Warriors. The next week would be Durant’s last with Oklahoma City.

Golden State capitalized on KD and Westbrook’s collective shooting woes to rally in Games 5 and 6. In Game 7, Durant snapped out of the brief slump and made 10-of-19 shots, but Westbrook remained cold (7-of-21) as the Warriors erased another second-half deficit to complete an epic comeback.

A spike in the salary cap paved the way for KD, an unrestricted free agent for the first time, to not only split from Russ but join Golden State a few weeks later. Pairing with Curry & Co. allowed Durant to flex more of his playmaking and defensive muscles. It also instantly made the Warriors one of the greatest teams of all time. They breezed through the following regular season and nearly went undefeated in the postseason, losing only a potential Finals clincher before closing out the Cavaliers in five. Durant averaged 35-8-5 for the series, eclipsed 30 points in every game and produced .556/.474/.927 shooting splits

Cleveland put up even less of a fight in the 2018 rematch, which saw Durant hit a dagger 3-pointer late in Game 3 just as he had in the previous Finals. He averaged 29-11-8 in the sweep on .526/.409/.963 shooting and again was, by far, the Warriors’ best player.

"No one can take any issue with what he did in Golden State," Wright said. "Two Finals, two Finals MVPs, but everyone kind of feels uncomfortable about it."

Though KD wasn’t necessarily regarded as the league’s best player, he played like it often enough to make the Warriors seemingly unbeatable. The basketball nirvana soon ended, however. Durant’s pending free agency in 2019 caused friction throughout what would be his final season in the Bay. Golden State remained a heavy favorite yet became vulnerable once KD suffered a calf strain midway through the postseason. He’d been averaging 38.8 points in eight full games prior to the injury.

The Warriors made their fifth straight Finals anyway but trailed 3-1 to the Raptors when Durant attempted to play Game 5. He lasted 12 minutes, scoring 11 points and connecting on all three of his 3s before tearing his Achilles.

The ensuing lost season has somewhat felt like three of them, as Durant’s migration to Brooklyn has been undermined by injuries and insubordination from his hand-picked teammates. With Kyrie Irving sidelined and James Harden severely limited, KD played some of the best ball of his storied career in the 2021 postseason. The Nets were tied 2-2 with the Bucks after losing two straight and were trailing big in the second half when Durant caught fire. He scored 31 points over the final 18 minutes – he'd play all 48 – and finished with 49, to go along with 17 rebounds and 10 assists in the Brooklyn win.

In Game 7, Durant’s last-second jumper was an inch from counting as a 3 and clinching the series. He went for 48-9-6 and played all 53 minutes, but the Nets lost in overtime.

"Foot on the line, in what could have been an all-time shot at the end of regulation. Everyone remembers that. I really hope people don’t forget Game 5," Wright said. "One of the finest basketball games anyone’s ever played."

Durant has several of them. He’s gone for 40 points 14 times in the postseason and has the fourth-best scoring average in the playoffs (29.4) and regular season (27.2). The latter figure is built on an exquisite 49.6% shooting from the field, 38.4% from 3 and 88.4% from the line.

Just 33 years old, KD still has a lot more shots in him. All that's lacking in his illustrious résumé is more winning. His teams split four Finals and were knocked out by a finalist in six of his seven other postseason appearances, losing to six champions overall. Durant's brilliance deserves better.

"If someone comes to me and says Nick, you have him two spots too low or two spots too high, I understand the arguments," Wright said. "I think he will move up slightly over the rest of his career. I’m not sure how much higher he can move up, and I think Giannis [Antetokounmpo] will pass him eventually."