It was hard to envision any team stopping the Brooklyn Nets led by their trio of Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving on their way to the 2021 NBA championship. However, due to unfortunate luck with injuries, the prized Big Three is now down to a Big One, at least for Brooklyn's Game 5 against the Milwaukee Bucks assuming James Harden does indeed sit out. Harden hasn't played in all but 43 seconds of this second round series, while Kyrie Irving sprained his right ankle midway through their Game 4 loss in Milwaukee.
There is still a lot of uncertainty with Harden and Irving's injuries, and it's worth wondering when they will be back on the floor for the Nets. Unfortunately, barring a miracle with Harden on Tuesday, KD is left as the lone chief who will lead his troops to battle for this pivotal Game 5 contest.
Fans on social media like labeling certain games as “legacy games” for some of the all-time greats, such as Kevin Durant. Some people have also floated around the idea that Durant's “legacy” is on the line for this upcoming Game 5 against Milwaukee. If the two-time Finals MVP is able to power the Nets through these playoffs without his two co-stars, what will this do for his legacy?
This won't do much but just further prove Durant's standing as one of the greatest players to ever play in the NBA.
If Durant retired today, there's no doubt he is already an all-time great. In addition, nobody will dispute his place on the super shortlist of the best scorers this game has ever seen. He's already nearly in the top 25 for all-time NBA points and is fifth in points per game.
However, the 11-time All-Star has drawn criticism of being unable to win without a superstar talent beside him. This came about when he joined the Golden State Warriors, a team that just set an NBA record with 73 wins the previous season, but just fell short of winning the NBA title. Many see KD's run with the Dubs as tainted due to the plethora of All-Star talent that team had, including two-time MVP Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green.
In addition, many criticized Kevin Durant for joining a team that knocked him off the postseason the year before. Teaming up with Kyrie Irving and James Harden in Brooklyn only further reinforced the perception of Durant needing other superstar-level players to succeed.
However, KD is already at the point of his career where he doesn't really need to prove just how great he is. Nobody in the history of the NBA is able to do it all by himself. Michael Jordan never won without Scottie Pippen. Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had each other during their dominance in the 1980s. Even Bill Russell had a plethora of Hall of Famers alongside him when he won 11 titles with the Celtics.
A complete and well-oiled team wins a championship, and the Nets had that even with just Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving healthy. Now with Irving down, it will definitely be a more challenging road for Brooklyn on the way to a championship.
Sure, many would see the Nets as being unfair for having Durant, Irving, and Harden all on their team. But that's the result of great management from the Nets' front office. That's not Durant's fault. The name of the game is to win, and the organization just did what it could to give the team the best chance to win.
With that said, Kevin Durant leading this Nets squad would just further solidify his place as one of the best to ever play the game, especially since he could do so coming off one of the most devastating injuries known in sports. Being unable to do so won't tarnish the legacy he has already established in his career.
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