The rumor mill long held that one place recently retired shooter J.J. Redick hoped to land before his NBA career wrapped up was Brooklyn. He lives in Brooklyn, and that was certainly part of his desire to be a Net, but it turns out there was another reason: Redick says all players in the NBA know that Durant is the best among them.
Redick, speaking on an ESPN conference call, had high praise for Durant, impressive for a guy in his 15th season and two years removed from Achilles tendon surgery, an injury that has sapped many good NBA careers.
“What he’s been able to do post Achilles has been nothing short of remarkable,” Redick said. “From my perspective as a player, my peers’ perspective, he’s the best player in the NBA, and everybody else is sort of competing for that second spot.”
‘Kevin Is Always Going To Be 1A’
Redick pointed out that while media members and other observers might shout about other top players in the league, from Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James in Los Angeles to Luka Doncic and Steph Curry, Durant should be held in a category of his own. He is showing that this season, as he is averaging 27.7 points, 8.9 rebounds and 5.3 assists while shooting, incredibly, 57.9% from the field. He is making 37.9% of his 3-pointers, which includes an uncharacteristically slow 4-for-13 start from the arc.
Redick also pointed out that as a long-limbed, 7-foot wing, Durant is a unique defensive presence. He said:
He almost doesn’t count. When we talk about the best players in the NBA, we go down the list, whether it’s Kawhi or Luka or Steph, LeBron. You can probably name six to ten guys on that list of the best players in the NBA. Kevin almost doesn’t count.
Whoever the best player is, it’s honestly 1B because Kevin is always going to be 1A. There’s really nobody that has his skill set. He can shoot it as well as anybody; he can handle it as well as anybody; and he’s seven feet tall. He’s one of the most versatile defenders in league history probably.
Durant Started His Career as a Shooting Guard
Indeed, one remarkable feature of Durant’s career has been the way he has progressed, position-wise, from his rookie year until now. Some of that has been the fact that Durant has played in an era in which small-ball teams can succeed, but some of that has been because players like Durant—with size and versatility—helped lead the smallball era.
According to Basketball-Reference.com, Durant played 94% of his possessions at shooting guard as rookie in Seattle in 2007-08. So far this season, he has played the bulk of his possessions at power forward (54%)—but has gotten significant minutes at center (46%).
As guard Quinn Cook explained to Hoopshype three years ago, when he was a teammate of Durant’s in Golden State, Durant has absorbed a variety of influences as he came into the league, and with the gift of his size, became the kind of player most could only imagine.
“All of a sudden, he’s like a created player from a video game,” Cook said. “Every kid has created a 7-foot guard who can do everything – shoot from anywhere, dribble like a point guard and defend every position. Kevin is a real-life created player.”
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