Andre Iguodala wasn't short of compliments for his teammate Kevin Durant, as the perennial scorer has gone through the wringer, criticized for every decision and every word that comes out of his mouth since leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2016.
The 2015 Finals MVP lauded the fellow two-time Finals MVP for his innate ability to put points on the board in ways that hadn't been seen before.
“People don’t appreciate him enough. He's the most talented scorer of all-time. Hands down,” Iguodala said of Durant, according to Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated. “He's a walking 30 points. He’ll get 30 on 12 shots. That’s very, very hard to do. Very efficient. Most guys need to feel the ball in their hands a lot to get a rhythm. He doesn’t.”
The longtime NBA veteran soon after gave his reasoning for such a tall compliment, making a comparison to other greats in the NBA game.
“Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were the two guys with unstoppable moves. MJ had the fadeaway and Kareem had the skyhook, but KD is a 7-footer who can hit a hesi pull-up from 50 feet out,” said Iguodala. “That's his unstoppable move.”
Just as teammate Stephen Curry has re-written how NBA defenses should play an offensive player with unlimited range, Durant has re-written the rules of what a big man can do, making it no longer a unique specialty, but the evolution of positionless basketball — an era that the league has been transitioning into over the past few years.
Durant has certainly etched himself into a Hall of Fame resume with an NBA MVP, two championships, two Finals MVPs, and four scoring titles to his name — but nothing will leave more of a lasting imprint that his on-court arsenal, which has forever changed how we look at players 6-foot-10 and above, now able to handle the ball and shoot it at a high clip — more refined than ever before.
Follow Us
Subscribe