Warriors superstar Kevin Durant is arguably the best basketball player in the world right now. Yet there are also legit arguments that he may not even be the best basketball player on his team — a nod many give to 2x NBA MVP Steph Curry. As the Golden State Warriors enter the NBA Finals without Durant to start, many are wondering if they even need the defending 2x NBA Finals MVP to win. After all, the Warriors swept the Trail Blazers and finished off the Rockets without Durant, right?
There are some unnerving statistics below that make the Kevin Durant mystery even deeper. His unquestioned individual dominance coincides with surprisingly mediocre Warriors win/loss results. Maybe the mystery is encapsulated by the video below, showing a Warriors possession and dunk that is all KD brilliance end-to-end, but look at the score. It’s an athletic individual move few NBA stars could even contemplate, but where’s the ball movement?
https://www.instagram.com/p/ByBu2ELFdID/
NBA Math shares these food-for-thought stats: “Over his last 10 games, Kevin Durant has averaged 35.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.8 blocks while slashing 51.4/41.3/89.5. His team has gone 6-4.”
That revealed, KD is always praised by his teammates as key. He is unquestionably great, and works hard to fit into the game plan and the Warriors culture. He’s a great teammate and a superstar. Hopefully he’ll heal up well to impact these NBA Finals and dismiss the doubts and dispel the mystery, which might be called the: Is Kevin Durant Too Great for the Team Mystery? Two straight NBA Finals MVPs would seem to say no, but doubters persist.
