Durant's basketball talent is undoubtedly outstanding, but if he doesn't join the Warriors, whether he will be the next Harden needs to be analyzed rationally. Although Durant has always been hailed as the league's superstar, he has never led a team to a championship in a big way, except for proving himself with the Warriors. In contrast, James is the only superstar to have led a championship on all three teams, and Curry has also led the team to prove himself in 2015 and 2022. In the Warriors, Durant was able to win the championship with the help of teammates like Curry. The Warriors have great three-point shooters, such as Thompson, who draw a lot of defensive resources to Durant.
In the Warriors, his performance was phenomenal, known as the Grim Reaper, averaging 30 points and eight rebounds per game, 29 assists 17 steals, showing super strength. But outside of the Warriors, his performance has been unsatisfactory. In the 2016 playoffs, he was reversed by the Warriors and eventually chose to join the Warriors. However, outside of the Warriors, Durant didn't perform as well as he did on the Warriors, with a miserable ball-handling performance and a very low three-point shooting percentage. In crucial matches, he shot just 39 percent from the field and even had two turnovers. These performances show that Durant is not a superstar who can stand on his own, and he needs the help of his teammates to play to his strengths.
As a result, if he hadn't joined the Warriors, he could have become a Harden-like player who would need to rely on his teammates to play to his strengths. As the leader of the team, Durant's average of less than three assists per game is indeed not enough, which is one of the main reasons why the Thunder were eventually reversed. Therefore, Durant bears a lot of responsibility in this game. Although Willis' performance was not good enough at the time, Durant's performance was even worse. In contrast, Curry has been outstanding in a few games where Durant has been in a slump. In G5, he shot 9-of-20 from the field, shooting 49% from the field and scoring a game-high 36 points, which was one of the keys to the Warriors' comeback from 3-1 down.
Durant's performance after leaving the Warriors also showed his lack of key abilities. Against the Bucks in 2021, he hit zero of six in crunch time. And against the Celtics in 2022, not only could he not score under the iron-blooded defense, but he also made frequent mistakes, with more than five errors per game. It's fair to say that Durant didn't perform well in crunch time. Of course, there are all sorts of reasons to excuse Durant, such as his dip in form after a ruptured Achilles tendon, but I don't think he showed the level of a superstar even before he joined the Warriors. Therefore, I do not think he deserves this title.
The act of throwing in the enemy is seen as a disgrace among pundits and fans in the United States, and while it may not seem very serious at home, it still shows that Durant's behavior of investing in the Warriors is deeply criticized. All that said, I don't think it's likely that Durant will win another championship unless he joins the Nuggets and leads the team to a championship. What do you think about this?Welcome to leave a message in the comment area, I will reply one by one.