Zeke is one of few to mention KD’s name among the best of the best.
Kevin Durant is undoubtedly an all-time great. But according to Isiah Thomas, the legendary forward belongs in the conversation with the best of the best.
During a recent interview with Kory Woods of ML Live, Zeke gave his list of the greatest players ever. In his Top 6, he had (in random order) MJ, Bron, Kobe, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, and Bill Russell. The legendary point guard mentioned Kevin’s name right after that.
“When his career is done—and I want everybody to hear me when I say this—when his career is totally over, you’re going to quietly look at what Kevin Durant has done, and the many young players he’s influenced, and all of us are going to be having a totally different conversation about Kevin Durant and his impact on the game,” Thomas said.
KD was the first unicorn
KD has inspired a new generation of players with his skill set and versatility. As a seven-footer with guard skills and an elite outside shot, you can argue that KD is the forerunner of the playstyle young seven-footers today are trying so hard to emulate.
That being said, injuries took a big chunk of Durant’s prime. After leading the Golden State Warriors to back-to-back titles as the Finals MVP in both runs, KD suffered an Achilles injury in the 2019 Playoffs. He missed the entire 2018-19 season and 109 games in the next three campaigns.
“If he doesn’t tear his Achilles and get hurt, who knows where he would be scoring-wise, championship-wise, and everything else? But I just think, like you know, as time progresses, he’s going to be in this conversation,” Isiah added.
Zeke’s ex-teammate agrees
Thomas’ Bad Boys teammate, John Salley, agrees with his former captain. During an interview with Vlad TV, “Spider” said it’s unfair to put Durant on a different tier from LeBron, Mike, and Kobe only because he won his titles in Golden State.
“Let me tell you what’s stupid about people who say he couldn’t win in OKC, he couldn’t win in Brooklyn, he had to go to a place to jump on a bandwagon,” Salley said. “What’s the difference between Wilt Chamberlain coming to win a championship with Jerry West in the ’70s?”. They also said the same thing about LeBron needing to down to Miami to win with D-Wade. Well, no one wins a championship by themselves.”
Aside from his NBA resume, Durant’s stint with Team USA also gives him additional credentials to be in the Top 10 or the greatest of all time. KD just became Team USA’s all-time Olympic scoring leader while winning his fourth gold medal, the most by any U.S. male basketball player ever.