Who knew Brandon Jennings had so much interest about the history of the NBA?
The Detroit Pistons point guard has been doing a lot of thinking this offseason, and he has not been shy about sharing some of those thoughts with everyone on twitter.
First came a list of current NBA players who he believed would likely make it to the Hall of Fame. Then came his personal belief that Kobe Bryant is a greater player than Michael Jordan. On Tuesday, Jennings turned his attention to one of the most intriguing players the league has ever seen: Kevin Durant.
Durant is officially listed at 6’9″, but no one really believes it because he simply looks a bit taller than that. You can make the argument that no player at his height and length has ever possessed the abilities he has. The first thing that separates him from other players of his size is the ability to handle the ball and blow by the defense like a guard. Second thing is his ability to shoot from anywhere, regardless of who is defending him. The ability to get a shot off from anywhere is great, but the pinpoint accuracy of Durant is what separates him from others, and it makes him an unbelievable threat on offense. He joined the 50-40-90 club in the 2012-2013 season, and came close last season with 50-39-87 – pretty hard to do when you shoot as much as he does while regularly leading the league in scoring.
Now comes the interesting question from Jennings: the way he’s going, is Durant good enough to ultimately end up as one of the top 5 greatest players of all-time?
Y’all Think Kevin Durant has a chance too be top 5 Greatest Of All Time??? At the rate he going I believe so.
— BRANDON JENNINGS (@BrandonJennings) September 3, 2014
Tell me last time you seen a 6’11 SF come pull up for 3, and it’s automatic. Or 6’11 with a Handle like his. Y’all crazy
— BRANDON JENNINGS (@BrandonJennings) September 3, 2014
The problem for this question is that there isn’t a specific criteria for what makes you the greatest of all-time, but lets presume that it’s the whole package involved: number of MVP awards, championships, Finals MVP, All-Star appearances, etc. With all those things considered, it’s probably fair to say that the current top five players of all-time in no particular order are: Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Bill Russell. All of these players have multiple championships and MVP awards under their belt. This list is a matter of preference, so if you want to put others (reasonably speaking) like Tim Duncan or Wilt Chamberlain ahead of the names listed, that’s fine, too.
As for whether Durant will be good enough to catapult his name onto that list, it’s a pretty tough call. Truth be told, LeBron James is much closer to thwarting someone from that list with his four MVP awards and two rings than Durant currently is.
The good thing about Durant is that he is still only 25 (yes, that is scary) and has plenty of time to add to his legacy. He already has one MVP award, and it won’t be surprising to see him win more over James, who will soon turn 30. He has made it to the Finals once, and will likely have many more chances for years to come. To be fair about the lack of success he has had thus far in his quest for a ring, Durant has made it to the playoffs five times, and four of the teams he ended up losing to went on to win the championship.
It’s not impossible for Durant to become one of the top five greatest players of all-time. Yes, he is that talented. In order for that to happen, though, he is going to have to start making some serious noise in the playoffs in the coming years sooner than later.
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James Park is a blogger and editor of Sheridan Hoops. Follow him on twitter @SheridanBlog.