Kevin Durant has played for a lot of teams in his NBA career. In this piece, we rank the best versions of him.
Since 2007, Kevin Durant has played for five (if you include the shift from Seattle to Oklahoma City) different teams over his career. He’s won an MVP, NBA championships, and bounced back from a gruesome injury all with different teams, but regardless of which team he plays for, he’s always been unstoppable on offense. Today, we rank the different iterations of the Slim Reaper and see when he was really at his peak.
Since Durant hasn’t played a full season with the Phoenix Suns yet, we’ve decided to leave him out of the rankings for now.
4. Durant with the Seattle Supersonics
It’s unfortunate that this version of Kevin Durant technically only lasted one season. Playing for a roster that lost two of their leading scorers a season prior, Durant played his first season with a chip on his shoulder and proved he should’ve been the number-one pick. He’d finish the season starting in 80 games and led the team in scoring with 20.3 points. Ironically, that was also the total number of wins the Sonics had that year. The whole season wasn’t a total disappointment for Durant as he ultimately won Rookie of the Year.
3. Durant with the Brooklyn Nets
Some would argue this was the most important phase of Durant’s career. Aside from coming off an Achilles tear, this was the first time Durant made his own super team from scratch. Though that Nets team lasted only two years, and imploded in the worst way possible, Durant did become one of the few players to play even better after what most people say is a career-ending injury. Had he worn a slightly smaller shoe during game 7 of the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals and led the Nets to their first title, this version of Durant would be a lot higher on this list.
2. Durant with the Oklahoma City Thunder
This may catch a lot of people by surprise, especially since this is where Durant won his only league MVP. However, this version of Durant hasn’t even honed his full potential yet. In his eight seasons as a member of the Thunder, Durant put together his first season with shooting splits of 50/40/90 and led the team to their only Finals appearance in franchise history.
1. Durant with the Golden State Warriors
As much as everyone hates to admit it, this version of Kevin Durant was him at his peak. And it’s not only because he played with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. As a member of the Warriors, Durant was the undoubted closer of the team that had two of the greatest shooters ever. Durant always led the team in scoring during the postseason and unlocked his potential on defense. Of course, who can forget that Durant also won two championships and two finals MVPs during this three-year span?
