In Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday night, the Golden State Warriors knocked off the Cleveland Cavaliers to enact revenge and earn the 2017 NBA title.
A major part of that was the stellar play of Kevin Durant, who was without a doubt their leading offensive scoring punch. He notched a team-best 39 points on 14-of-20 shooting from the field in the decisive contest.
According to ESPN, Durant joined elite company alongside a pair of Hall of Famers after winning his first championship:
All he needed was the title.
Kevin Durant joins a short list of legends. pic.twitter.com/GWSzIigHCb
— ESPN (@espn) June 13, 2017
This is quite an incredible feat, to be mentioned alongside two of the greatest players to play the game in Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain. They were also arguably the best scorers in the league during their time, and they had the championship pedigree to back it up.
Durant has proven to be arguably the best scorer in the league throughout much of his career. He proved that in the NBA Finals against the Cavaliers, being the first player since Shaquille O'Neal in 2000 to score at least 30 points in each of the first five games of the series. Not surprisingly, he won the NBA Finals MVP award.
Cleveland simply had no answer for Durant on the defensive end of the court, as he averaged 35.2 points on 55.6 percent shooting from the field, including 47.4 percent from beyond the arc with 8.4 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and one block. He also shot better than 53 percent from the field in all but one game while knocking down multiple 3-pointers in each contest.
It was quite a remarkable first campaign with the Warriors for Durant. It saw him not only quickly immerse himself into the team's culture and playing style, but also take over as their leading scorer. This could very well mark the beginning of the first of many more titles for Golden State.
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