Patrick Baldwin Jr. ranks extremely low on the Golden State Warriors' list of top defensive matchups for Kevin Durant.

Andrew Wiggins would've been assigned that near-impossible assignment on Wednesday night had he been available. Klay Thompson definitely would've gotten a few possessions checking Durant if the Warriors weren't playing on a back-to-back, too. Jonathan Kuminga has the early makings of a stopper on the wing, and Anthony Lamb earned his rotation spot largely due to defensive versatility.

Kevon Looney is one of the league's most underrated switch defenders, with the rare length to challenge Durant's. JaMychal Green was signed in part for his ability to check multiple positions, but was sidelined by illness against Brooklyn. Draymond Green, of course, can guard pretty much anyone effectively, even if he's lost a half step sliding his feet on the perimeter.

Baldwin certainly sits below those seven guys in the Warriors' pecking order of viable defenders for Durant. There's even a case to be made Stephen Curry would be a better option guarding his former teammate than Golden State's seldom-played rookie sharpshooter.

But none of that mattered on Wednesday, when the culmination of the Warriors' disastrous six-game road trip ended with extremely extended garbage time in a 143-113 loss to the surging Nets.

Baldwin took advantage of his rare opportunity for more minutes, proving why Golden State took him late in the first round of the 2022 draft despite a sorely underwhelming freshman season at Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He scored a career-high 17 points off the bench on Wednesday, hitting 5-of-8 from deep while showing off his quick, pitch-perfect shooting stroke at 6'9.

The Warriors, remember, certainly didn't draft Baldwin because of what he could do on the other end of the floor. With his woefully short-handed team down 20-plus points midway through the first quarter, though, Draymond Green decided to throw Baldwin into the lion's den of guarding Durant anyway.

“F*** it, you got KD,” Baldwin recalled Green telling him during the game.

Durant finished the game with 23 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals, doing the vast majority of his damage before intermission, when the Nets led the laughable score of 91-51.

Baldwin guarded him from almost the moment he entered midway through the second quarter, causing Durant's eyes to light up. The first three of Durant's five straight makes leading up to halftime came with Baldwin as his primary defender. James Wiseman was similarly out-classed by the two-time Finals MVP as a pick-and-roll helper and switch defender, too.

It's not exactly surprising that Durant would light up a 20-year-old forward who was a net negative defensively against mid-major competition less than a year ago. If Baldwin eventually makes good on the promise Golden State sees in him, though, his trial by fire against Durant could be a seminal moment in his all-around development.