• CLUTCH Summary: Now with the Brooklyn Nets, as well as formerly with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors, Kevin Durant has already had a historically relevant career. 
  • While not yet having a chance to leave his mark with the Nets, both the Thunder and Warriors benefited from Durant's elite ability to get buckets.
  • This is only the start to Kevin Durant building a legacy, injury or not. 

In the debate of the most clutch player in the NBA today, it would be somewhat unlawful to not include Kevin Durant in the conversation. The new Brooklyn Nets recruit is definitely the type that thrives under pressure, and he has certainly proven this on more than a few occasions throughout his 12-year career.

It was a bit of a challenge, but we were able to come up with what we consider to be the four-time NBA scoring champ's most clutch moments. Enjoy.

1. vs. Golden State Warriors (Jan 17, 2014)

Before we head on to a series of unforgettable KD game-winners, let's start off with one of Durant's most dominant performances in his career. In January of 2017 — against the Golden State Warriors, ironically — the 10-time All-Star would catch fire en route to a career-high 54 points (on 19-of-28 shooting and 11-of-13 from the charity stripe), five treys, four rebounds, six assists, a couple of steals, and a block in 44 minutes of play.

The former Rookie of the Year winner would go on to win the MVP trophy that season, after averaging 32.0 points, 2.4 three-pointers, 7.4 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.7 blocks throughout the campaign.

4. vs. Dallas Mavericks (Dec 29, 2011)

In his fifth year in the league, Durant would knock down one of his more memorable game-winners in the opening week of the 2011-12 season. KD and the Oklahoma City Thunder were down a point against the Dallas Mavericks with just 1.4 seconds remaining. Durant received an excellent inbound pass from Thabo Sefolosha, and would knock down a fade-away, catch-and-shoot three-pointer from distance to give the Thunder the victory at the buzzer.

3. at Atlanta Hawks (Nov 16, 2007)

Let's throw it all the way back to Durant's rookie year when the Thunder were still the Seattle Supersonics. KD, the second overall pick of that season's draft, was a highly-touted prospect coming out of the University of Texas in Austin. In just the 10th game of his NBA career, the then 19-year-old would prove that he would be able to live up to all the hype surrounding him by sinking an audacious double overtime game-winning trey against the Atlanta Hawks.

This was Durant's first ever game-winner, so this absolutely had to be on our list.

2. at Cleveland Cavaliers (Jun 6, 2018 – NBA Finals Game 3)

This was undoubtedly one of Durant's most dominant playoff performances in his career. He absolutely torched LeBron James and the Cavs with 43 points (on 15-of-23 shooting), six three-pointers, 13 rebounds, seven assists, a steal, and a block. KD was absolutely clutch in this one, and the icing on the cake was his dagger trey with less than a minute remaining in the pivotal contest, which would give the Warriors a six point advantage.

The Warriors were already leading 2-0 in the series, and this shot pretty much ended all hopes for the Cavs to mount a comeback akin to their historic come-from-behind Finals win back in 2016. This was the shot that led to Durant's second NBA title, but it would also pretty much end LeBron's second stint with Cleveland, as he would eventually decide to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers a few weeks later.

Oh, and one minor bit we almost forgot about — Durant would be awarded as back-to-back Finals MVP following another dominant Finals performance.

1. at Cleveland Cavaliers (Jun 7, 2017 – NBA Finals Game 3)

One year earlier, Durant would make an eerily similar clutch play in pretty much the exact same moment in the Finals. The Warriors were up 2-0 against the Cavs, and were playing in Cleveland for Game 3. In almost the exact same spot, Durant would sink a go-ahead three pointer in the final minute of the contest. This would give the Dubs a one-point lead against the Cavs, and similar to what transpired one year later, Durant and company would go on to win the game, and the series thereafter.

The primary reason why we decided to place this at the very top of our list is because this was Durant's first ever championship. Golden State were painted as the villains throughout the season, and more than a few people wanted to see them fail. KD definitely silenced his critics by cementing his legacy in the league after achieving the penultimate accolade in the sport — the coveted NBA title.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO5vDFxDBYk

Unfortunately, Durant is not expected to figure heavily in his new team's plans for the upcoming season, as he recovers from a season-ending Achilles injury suffered in the NBA Finals last season. We will need to wait a a few months (or maybe even closer to a year?) before KD sets foot in an NBA game again, so until then, we are left with no choice but to look back at the countless unforgettable moments in the decorated career of this two-time NBA champ.