“We’re just picking on KD, he’s the only redeemable thing right now in Brooklyn” - NBA analyst says Kevin Durant takes more heat than any superstar in NBA history
Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant has come under immense scrutiny of late. The superstar takes more heat than anyone else in the league, according to Colin Cowherd. Durant was criticized by Charles Barkley for not being the best player during his two championship wins with the Golden State Warriors.
Speaking on "The Herd with Colin Cowherd," the NBA analyst believes that Durant is being picked on by the media. Cowherd believes Durant was the best player on the Warriors team during their 2017 and 2018 championship wins and was the "bus driver." Cowherd said:
"All you haters out there got to acknowledge either the soul of the team for this entire dynasty has been Steph. I'm good with that. I don't agree with it, but I'm okay with it.
"Or you have to acknowledge Steph in the first and in the fourth championship drove it and KD in the middle ones drove it but you can't tell me in that three-year period with two titles, he's the MVP, he wasn't driving it and say Curry was.
"Teams don't drive themselves, coaches don't drive it, bench guys don't drive it. So I think we've gotten to a point now where we're just picking on KD. He's the only redeemable thing right now in Brooklyn."
"We've gotten to a point now where we're just picking on KD. He's the only redeemable thing right now in Brooklyn. That's it."
— @ColinCowherd https://t.co/tj0uH0P1ZV
Was Kevin Durant the "bus driver" during his time with the Warriors?
Kevin Durant, during his three years with the Warriors, won his first and second titles and reached another final in the third year.
The "Slim Reaper" also won two Finals MVP awards in 2017 and 2018 against a LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers team. It is also widely considered that they would have beaten the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 Finals had the forward suffered an Achilles injury.
Durant joined the Warriors in the summer of 2016. However, he was heavily criticized. His arrival came after his OKC Thunder lost a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference finals against Steph Curry and company.
Kevin Durant erupted for an #NBAPlayoffs career-high 43 PTS and added 13 REB, 7 AST to power the @warriors to a 3-0 #NBAFinals lead! #SAPStatLineOfTheNight https://t.co/5bxrzzONCA
During his three years there, KD averaged 25.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game while shooting 38.4% from the perimeter and 52.4% overall. The forward attempted 17.5 shots per game during the regular season on an average.
In the postseason, these numbers went up a notch. Kevin Durant attempted 19.7 shots on a nightly basis, while averaging 29.6 points and 7.1 rebounds. He also shot 39.5% from beyond the arc.
The Golden State Warriors have always been Steph Curry's team. However, Kevin Durant was the best player on the team during his three years there and was the "bus driver."