The response Kevin Durant offered a reporter who provocatively asked the two-time NBA champion why he isn’t considered a candidate for NBA GOAT, received a vicious, chin-checking reaction from the ESPN “First Take” panel.
“Because I went to the Warriors…,” Durant reasoned in an exclusive interview with The Republic. “Why shouldn’t I be in that (conversation)? That’s the question you should ask, why not? What haven’t I done?”
The Easy Money Sniper’s answer implied that he felt he should be in that conversation and fans are holding his two-title run with Golden State Warriors against him. After all, KD has an impressive résumé with 13 All-Star and 10 All-NBA selections. He’s a four-time scoring champ and 10th on the NBA’s All-Time scoring list. He’s only won a single MVP (2013-14), but he’s also won three Olympic gold medals.
“First Take” Crew Not Trying To Hear Kevin Durant GOAT Plea
Stephen A. Smith, Kendrick Perkins and the ESPN First Take team weren’t trying to hear it. These accolades just aren’t enough to elevate Durant into a position where he could crack the NBA Mount Rushmore.
“Yes, he’s one of the all-time great players in the NBA. You won’t find anybody to debate that. But when you talk about LeBron, Jordan, Kareem, Tim Duncan. Magic … People just say anything and expect it to fly because they are a great basketball player. KD has never been in the discussion for the GOAT,” Sharpe insisted.
Sharpe says a player has to have at least three regular season MVPs before he even has a discussion about a player being the GOAT.
Then Stephen A. Smith answered Durant’s question concerning what he hasn’t accomplished in this game.
“You haven’t won a championship without Klay Thompson and Steph Curry. What haven’t you done? You didn’t lead Oklahoma City to a title when Russell Westbrook and James Harden and Serge Ibaka and Reggie Jackson were your teammates,” Smith said.
“What haven’t you done? You didn’t win a championship when you were in Brooklyn.”
Stephen A. also took a shot at Durant’s leadership skills. Citing that he wanted to play high level hoops with the Brooklyn Nets but didn’t prioritize winning.
Kevin Durant doesn’t even outrank Stephen Curry on Kendrick Perkins’ all-time list.
Perkins agreed with Sharpe that a player needs multiple regular-season MVPs to even think about entering that discussion. Perk also brought some historical perspective to the discussion, noting that LeBron James didn’t enter into the GOAT conversation until he left Miami and went back to Cleveland and won.
We know Kevin Durant is sensitive and he feels that he is overlooked and overshadowed by other superstars of the game at times. He knew that his legacy would be looked at differently because he joined a 73-win team that already had three future Hall of Famers and experienced championship glory. The other option was to retire as a Carmelo Anthony, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, or Charles Barkley; all-timers whose legacies suffer from never winning a title.
As great as KD is, he has to accumulate more rings and things if he ever wants to be in the GOAT conversation. It wouldn’t be a stretch to suggest it’s too late for him at this advanced age. It’s really just KD throwing another tantrum. Or reminding us of his greatness when he’s feeling overlooked or underappreciated, as LeBron James tends to do at times. At least he owned it and didn’t tweet it from his burner phone.
