Kevin Durant Longhorn Legend

[Michael Knight 12663]

What does KD regret more, joining the Nets or having Kyrie join him

[LTtxfan 48688]

 

 

[ztejas 42744]

On 3/6/2022 at 10:13 PM, Michael Knight said:

What does KD regret more, joining the Nets or having Kyrie join him

Correct answer is trading for Harden. 

[ztejas 42744]

 

[Vic Mackey 46581]

[HookEm 2432]

Durant is 33. He has MAYBE 5 productive years left. If he stays relatively injury free, he might average 2,000 points per year.  That puts him ahead of Jordan and Kobe and at 4th all time. If he plays another 2 years after that at 1,500 points a year, he could pass Kareem.

That is pretty amazing considering he lost 2 years with injury and started a year later than Kobe or LeBron.

[Braff Zacklin 13284]

KD has slightly more than fifty bucks to flash these days.

[ztejas 42744]

These are very well produced and pretty unique when it comes to team-specific NBA media offerings. Good watch if you aren't an NBA fan and want to catch up on what KD has done this season. 

 

[ztejas 42744]

Digging through some old playoff stuff as I fill out a playoff bracket for this season and as I'm looking at the 2011 OKC Thunder I notice that 22 year old Kevin Durant, in his 2nd career playoff series, went (by game) 41, 23, 26, 31, 41 on 47/43/84 shooting splits. 

Dude averaged 32.4 a game with 40 in the opener and close out with just 6 playoff games ever under his belt. And the season before that he scored 30 ppg and came 2nd in MVP voting at 21 years old. 

Very few guys have been as good as he has for as long as he has.

I mean - I've been poring over his numbers for over a decade and have a bunch of them committed to memory and it still surprises me when I see stuff like that. 

Edited April 16, 2022 by ztejas

[Zeus 5862]

Fuck off Bawstin

[InkaUtexas 24822]

21 hours ago, Zeus said:

Fuck off Bawstin

Who touched you there? 

[Zeus 5862]

4 hours ago, InkaUtexas said:

Who touched you there? 

 

[closetohumping 17258]

This series has been awful for our man.

[statsman 5352]

It’s two games. He’ll be fine. 

[Nolacycling 893]

The greatest player on the planet better fucking figure out how to not have the ball knocked away.

[ztejas 42744]

Does anyone that hates on this dude pay attention to stuff like this? 

It's hard to have a much better attitude for a guy that went through the season he just did and had it capped off by getting swept for the first time in his career and losing in the first round for the first time since 2010. 

[statsman 5352]

KD, from the time he was at Texas until now, with all his talent, has always approached the game as if there was a right way, a best way to play it, and he hasn’t figured it all out yet. He is always trying to be a better player and a better teammate. 
 
Rooting for him has been a great fan experience. 

[Vic Mackey 46581]

On 4/21/2022 at 10:06 AM, statsman said:

It’s two games. He’ll be fine. 

Heh

[Tex-19 2868]

12 hours ago, ztejas said:

Does anyone that hates on this dude pay attention to stuff like this? 

It's hard to have a much better attitude for a guy that went through the season he just did and had it capped off by getting swept for the first time in his career and losing in the first round for the first time since 2010. 

Idk what to think about KD the person anymore. He used to be such a cool humble guy and most of his interviews still come off that way. But then you see his social media shit (check todays) and it’s like wtf? Attacking Barkley and calling himself a “god”..

[ztejas 42744]

20 minutes ago, Tex-19 said:

Idk what to think about KD the person anymore. He used to be such a cool humble guy and most of his interviews still come off that way. But then you see his social media shit (check todays) and it’s like wtf? Attacking Barkley and calling himself a “god”..

He's "attacking" Barkley because Chuck delegitimized his accomplishments on TV. I think he's allowed to clap back. 

The Twitter stuff is just goofy. He's routinely hilarious on Twitter. Sometimes it's cringy. It is what it is I guess. LeBron does the same shit. Just a weird era. 

Looks like the "god" label is a running thing. Like saying young king or the king.

He hangs out with Kyrie a lot. Probably too much. 

Edited April 26, 2022 by ztejas

[naija 2804]

he would be getting killed on here if he wasn't a Longhorn

[ztejas 42744]

26 minutes ago, naija said:

he would be getting killed on here if he wasn't a Longhorn

Maybe. Durant isn't lacking for non-Longhorn supporters. He's one of the most visible athletes in the world. 

Either way - what is the point of comments like this? You might as well say "Vince Young wouldn't be idolized as much around here if this wasn't a Texas board". No shit. Roger Clemens is more likely to find defenders of his steroid history on here than on an OU board. Jamaal Charles probably has his legacy pumped up a bit more here than elsewhere. 

Not sure what you're looking for. 

[HookEm 2432]

That reminds me… Jamaal Charles was such a badass.  Probably my favorite UT running back, and that is saying something.

[shadow_operative 15931]

2 hours ago, naija said:

he would be getting killed on here if he wasn't a Longhorn

he gets killed on here all of the time anyway. hence the title of the thread. 

[statsman 5352]

This board has a lot of Sooners, and like all OKC NBA fans, they will be eternally salty about KD leaving OKC. And they will always love the very flawed Russ Westbrook, because he stayed (for a while). 

[Sweetnsourpoke 151]

On a personal note, does Durant have much of a life outside of basketball? He clearly loves the game seemingly more than some of his fellow elite level players. But does he do anything? Collect cars? Have a main chick? Hands on investment in businesses and non-profits? Seems like he's either playing ball or acting like a bitch on TV or social media. Comes across as kind of a lost soul. 

[ztejas 42744]

4 minutes ago, Sweetnsourpoke said:

On a personal note, does Durant have much of a life outside of basketball? He clearly loves the game seemingly more than some of his fellow elite level players. But does he do anything? Collect cars? Have a main chick? Hands on investment in businesses and non-profits? Seems like he's either playing ball or acting like a bitch on TV or social media. Comes across as kind of a lost soul. 

He's worth a third of a billion and he told your mom that she sucks nice cock. 

[shadow_operative 15931]

1 hour ago, Sweetnsourpoke said:

On a personal note, does Durant have much of a life outside of basketball? He clearly loves the game seemingly more than some of his fellow elite level players. But does he do anything? Collect cars? Have a main chick? Hands on investment in businesses and non-profits? Seems like he's either playing ball or acting like a bitch on TV or social media. Comes across as kind of a lost soul. 

KD isn't hard to find. so many people coming in here asking questions about KD when in reality none of you have any real interest in finding the answers, you just want to bitch about something. Wanna know what KD is like? hmm, if only he famously ran a youtube channel where he puts out his own content and unadulterated thoughts all of the time.

https://youtube.com/c/TheBoardroom

to answer your question, basketball is pretty much his singular focus as long as he's playing. he's already come out and said that he's not tying himself down nor is he having any kids while he's playing, for multiple reasons, the main one being that he's married to the game and not in a space to raise a kid. what a poor, pathetic lost soul he is. 🙄 

Edited April 27, 2022 by shadow_operative

[ztejas 42744]

Durant carrying the United States to the gold in Tokyo is hands down the most impactful decision and follow through that anyone has ever made in the history of the US basketball program. 

I'm honestly so fucking sick of trying to defend this guy's actions when he selflessly put an entire fucking nation on his back to show the rest of the world that we're still the best when it comes to roundball. 

I mean it's actually disgusting how little credit KD gets for that shit.

[Mole 4265]

 

Edited April 27, 2022 by Mole
Wrong one

[Aqua Buddha 13901]

I'll say this about Durant.  The dude loves basketball and playing basketball.  It's all he's ever wanted to do and all he wants to do.  Some athletes have a wide range of interests and are great interviews.  Durant talks about basketball.  However, he saddled his legacy to dudes that don't seem to give a shit (Kyrie, Harden, Simmons, etc.)  I kinda of feel bad for him in that regard but he chose that path.  Meanwhile, the dudes in GS love basketball.  

His legacy might be tarnished about the lack of titles outside GS and it shouldn't be.  Maybe he cares, maybe he doesn't.  He seems to.  He seemed thin skinned about the simple question of where his jersey will be retired at.  Prolly might be OKC to be honest.  Don't see it anywhere else.

[statsman 5352]

That’s fair enough. The guy really tried to be a good guy in OKC, active in local charity and supportive of the community. He just wanted a new scene, and for lots of reasons. 
 
On the old site, there was a thread that was scores of pages long, starting in 2014 or so, speculating on what KD would do when his contract expired. Would he extend for a year? Sign a max with OKC? Try free agency?

I speculated that he would go free agent and was told I didn’t know what I was talking about. There was truth to that- lots of guys (Aggie08, Bateman) understood capology and the NBA players agreement a lot better than I did. I just felt that a guy like KD, if he was going to stay, he would decide early on that he was staying and would sign and announce in the way most helpful to his team. That he wasn’t doing that was very telling to me.
I would be surprised if GS doesn’t get around to retiring his jersey, too, maybe after Klay and Green, but around the same time as Iggy. I think they appreciate what he brought (dominance). They lost the finals in 2016 and faced a Cleveland team in 2017 that had just gone 12-1 through the playoffs first three rounds.  
 

[Sweetnsourpoke 151]

14 hours ago, ztejas said:

He's worth a third of a billion and he told your mom that she sucks nice cock. 

KD? Is that you? Had no idea you were on here. Gotta develop some thicker skin, brother. 

[Vic Mackey 46581]

Heh

 

[SilasCoade 2620]

And Iverson was great, so....

Edited April 28, 2022 by Llogg

[Satchel 6889]

On 4/27/2022 at 12:50 AM, Sweetnsourpoke said:

On a personal note, does Durant have much of a life outside of basketball? He clearly loves the game seemingly more than some of his fellow elite level players. But does he do anything? Collect cars? Have a main chick? Hands on investment in businesses and non-profits? Seems like he's either playing ball or acting like a bitch on TV or social media. Comes across as kind of a lost soul. 

His mom seems like the type who would give any woman perceived to be encroaching on her place in his life, holy hell.

[shadow_operative 15931]

i'm the biggest AI fanboy on this site, and social media posts like that make me weep for today's young basketball fans. not only did AI play in what was probably the shittiest era quality-wise in NBA history, he was also wildly inefficient, and spent all of his prime years playing in a terrible eastern conference. the difference in LeBron and KD as players is negligible; the difference in KD and AI is laughable. but uh, great post. 

[statsman 5352]

There is a terrific modern comp for Iverson- it’s Westbrook. The Westbrook fanboys reject that talk, as a put down of Russ, but it really isn’t. Iverson, like Russ, was a terrific but flawed player. Both had incredible motors, neither ever backed down, both were willing to take over a stalled offense (for better or worse), both were always the leader. High volume scorers, mediocre shooters…they are cut from the same cloth. 

[closetohumping 17258]

On 4/29/2022 at 4:56 AM, statsman said:

There is a terrific modern comp for Iverson- it’s Westbrook. The Westbrook fanboys reject that talk, as a put down of Russ, but it really isn’t. Iverson, like Russ, was a terrific but flawed player. Both had incredible motors, neither ever backed down, both were willing to take over a stalled offense (for better or worse), both were always the leader. High volume scorers, mediocre shooters…they are cut from the same cloth. 

I’d much rather have AI

 

 

[shadow_operative 15931]

huge fundamental difference in the two: AI would die if it meant winning, while Russ would block out his own teammate if it meant getting himself more stats. they couldn't be more opposite when it comes to wanting to win and being able to lead a team. 

Edited May 1, 2022 by shadow_operative

[closetohumping 17258]

4 hours ago, shadow_operative said:

huge fundamental difference in the two: AI would die if it meant winning, while Russ would block out his own teammate if it meant getting himself more stats. they couldn't be more opposite when it comes to wanting to win and being able to lead a team. 

There’s video of Russ screaming at a teammate to shoot it in a twenty point blowout so that he can get a triple double   It was against gsw   KD and Steph were laughing on the bench   
 

 

Back to KD, he’s our guy, but Colin cowherd made a compelling case where giannis is better than KD ever was   It hurt 

 

 

 

[statsman 5352]

Years ago, when Russ was at the top of his game, a friend who really follows the NBA and has great opinions on it shared his theory of what made Westbrook tick. Here it is-
 
It all started with Jordan. Jordan was so dominant, in play and in winning, that he became an icon that other great players aspired to emulate. Jordan was his team’s alpha, a hard alpha, and he insisted on getting the ball in key moments and taking the most important shots. 
 
Kobe was most successful in modeling his career after Jordan- dominant scorer, alpha personality and lots of winning. The notable shortcoming- his insistence that the Lakers were his team and Shaq part of his supporting cast, a stance he would not compromise on. 
 
Other players tried (and try) the Jordan model, but without other-worldly talent, it doesn’t work.
 
Russ wants to be like Jordan. He is an alpha by nature, in a way KD never has been. He wants the ball in key moments; in his heart of hearts he believes that is the best chance to win (even when teamed with KD, Paul George, James Harden). If you look at his per 32 minutes playoff stats, you see that in his career, he has taken more shots than his teammates in playoff games. 
 
Jordan has said that Russ is the modern player he respects the most. He gets what Westbrook is bringing in attitude and playing style. 
 
It doesn’t work because, in the modern game, shooting ability is more important than ever. Russ doesn’t have that. His game is flawed, but he is never changing his attitude or approach ti account for that. 

[closetohumping 17258]

4 hours ago, statsman said:

Years ago, when Russ was at the top of his game, a friend who really follows the NBA and has great opinions on it shared his theory of what made Westbrook tick. Here it is-
 
It all started with Jordan. Jordan was so dominant, in play and in winning, that he became an icon that other great players aspired to emulate. Jordan was his team’s alpha, a hard alpha, and he insisted on getting the ball in key moments and taking the most important shots. 
 
Kobe was most successful in modeling his career after Jordan- dominant scorer, alpha personality and lots of winning. The notable shortcoming- his insistence that the Lakers were his team and Shaq part of his supporting cast, a stance he would not compromise on. 
 
Other players tried (and try) the Jordan model, but without other-worldly talent, it doesn’t work.
 
Russ wants to be like Jordan. He is an alpha by nature, in a way KD never has been. He wants the ball in key moments; in his heart of hearts he believes that is the best chance to win (even when teamed with KD, Paul George, James Harden). If you look at his per 32 minutes playoff stats, you see that in his career, he has taken more shots than his teammates in playoff games. 
 
Jordan has said that Russ is the modern player he respects the most. He gets what Westbrook is bringing in attitude and playing style. 
 
It doesn’t work because, in the modern game, shooting ability is more important than ever. Russ doesn’t have that. His game is flawed, but he is never changing his attitude or approach ti account for that. 

Good post. The Russ now hurts his team more than helps.  Russ is about his stats, not winning.  Horrible defender, below average shooter and led the league in turnovers?  Jordan was a great defender.  Kobe as well.  

 

I like Kobe and I get where he was coming from, but early in their careers, Shaq was clearly the man and should've been.  To me, Kobe put himself ahead of Shaq when he forced that trade.

 

I'm not sure KD has that alpha mentality.  He's just absurdly talented.

[ztejas 42744]

10 hours ago, closetohumping said:

Back to KD, he’s our guy, but Colin cowherd made a compelling case where giannis is better than KD ever was   It hurt 

I was wondering about that today. Giannis is just as good. It's hard to evaluate because three of Durant's best years in 2017, 2018 and 2019 were on really good teams. Last year Durant was just as good as him. This year one of them was in a shit situation all season and one of them had championship continuity.

I mean Giannis today had a nice triple double but he went 9/25, 6/11 from the FT line and had 5 turns. Difference is he's a better defender and rebounder and playing on a better team that also matches up better with BOS (also Durant just straight up didn't play well against BOS and had zero help in figuring them out).

We'll see how the series goes. For the record I think Jokic is just as good as Giannis right now and those two should share joint best player in the league for this season. 

[closetohumping 17258]

16 minutes ago, ztejas said:

I was wondering about that today. Giannis is just as good. It's hard to evaluate because three of Durant's best years in 2017, 2018 and 2019 were on really good teams. Last year Durant was just as good as him. This year one of them was in a shit situation all season and one of them had championship continuity.

I mean Giannis today had a nice triple double but he went 9/25, 6/11 from the FT line and had 5 turns. Difference is he's a better defender and rebounder and playing on a better team that also matches up better with BOS (also Durant just straight up didn't play well against BOS and had zero help in figuring them out).

We'll see how the series goes. For the record I think Jokic is just as good as Giannis right now and those two should share joint best player in the league for this season. 

I think KD is far more skilled.  Giannis is just a freak.  

[Make em eat Taco Bell 1548]

KD thinks he has a handle, not anymore, causing 3-5 TOs a game.  Give it up, have more ball movement and the Nets will do better.  KD, Harden, KI, Lebron won't ever win a title again.

[Kermit 3081]

21 minutes ago, Make em eat Taco Bell said:

KD thinks he has a handle, not anymore, causing 3-5 TOs a game.  Give it up, have more ball movement and the Nets will do better.  KD, Harden, KI, Lebron won't ever win a title again.

Harden won’t win a title again? 

[aggie08 20212]

Straight up: I'm pretty sure that Taco Bell is NowThis. Same milquetoast, luke warm basketball takes. Welcome back, my man.

[closetohumping 17258]

On 4/29/2022 at 4:56 AM, statsman said:

There is a terrific modern comp for Iverson- it’s Westbrook. The Westbrook fanboys reject that talk, as a put down of Russ, but it really isn’t. Iverson, like Russ, was a terrific but flawed player. Both had incredible motors, neither ever backed down, both were willing to take over a stalled offense (for better or worse), both were always the leader. High volume scorers, mediocre shooters…they are cut from the same cloth. 

Just read this all the way.  Iverson was the undisputed leader of the 76ers
 

russ was probably more liked than KD in okc but Durant was the man.  Russ was also second fiddle to Harden and Beal respectively.  

[ztejas 42744]

8 minutes ago, closetohumping said:

russ was probably more liked than KD in okc but Durant was the man.

Are you talking about fans? If so - no. Not even close. He was only better liked after KD left. 

I mean, they didn't have it out for Russ or anything - they loved the duo. But Russ was never in KD's echelon when it came to anything, really. Remember that KD carried them to the 2 seed and then they almost made the Finals in 2014 when Russ missed like 50 games (Westbrook did come back before the playoffs and played well in the playoffs... sort of). When Durant went down in 2015 after 27 games (off the top of my head - bet that's right - yeah, I'm a weirdo) they missed the playoffs. 

Edited May 2, 2022 by ztejas