Suprise: Durant the next Michael Jordan

[ScoobyDoo]

You had Russell and Cousy, Jerry West, Magic and Kareen, Bird and McHale, then Stockton and Malone, Garnett & Duncan, and  Jordan...and then...everyone wondered who the next Jordan would be...

You had McGrady fans, Vince Carter fans, then Kobe fans, Wade fans and LeBron fans galore, along with other potential heirs to Jordan's kingdom.

But lo and behold, none of them proved they could truly wear the crown. Beacsue to wear that crown you have to be a little bit old school and combine a rare combination of talents and attributes that only a very select few get sprinkled with by the basketball gods. They are:

1. Transcendent talent, combined with
2. Class
3. Character
4. Ferocity in spirit & ice water in the veins -whether inwardly or outwardly apparent

5. An Old school, no nonsense true warrior's mentality to the game. A character that doesn't permitt preening and prancing and all manner of narcisistic self adolation 24/7, 365.

7. All the above then neatly wrapped into a package of humility and humbleness - not necessarliy on the court where they roar, but inside

8. Which allows them the ability to always stand on their own two feet, to honestly admitt defeat with out excuse and not brag about victory, after the fact.

That new torch bearer is not in LA or Miami or anywhere else. He's in Oklahoma City of all places. His name is Kevin Durant. While Lebron was having a media love fest with himself and publicly humiliating millions of fans in Cleveland, he quietly made his own "decision" and signed his own contract in his own living room, with not a camera around.

Class, character & transcendant talent.

I cast my vote for Kevin Durant.

PS: There is another little guy up in Boston who also goes about his business in a quiet way who also has loads of talent and is growing in character and skill.
He may or may not become another torch bearer, that remains to be seen; but the hardware is there   
 

[Fafnir]

Way too early.

You could have easily declared LeBron had the same sort of class and all of these virtues after his surprise trip to the Finals or after he signed his first extension. He was similarly "humble" when he inked that deal.

Durant hasn't won anything yet, he made the playoffs once and got beaten in the first round.

Go look at McGrady's numbers when he was young and in his prime. They are right there with Durant's.

You take a lot of judgments on character when you really have nothing to base them off of.

[Roy H.]

Which of the above attributes doesn't Wade display?

Also, with Jordan, a lot of the "class" and "character" was probably a bit of a facade.  A lot of people thought he was a jerk, and he had his off-the-court issues with gambling, etc.

I hope fans buy into Durant and his star eventually shines brighter than Kobe's and Lebron's; he seems like a likable guy who is worth rooting for, whereas the other two are jerks and prima donnas.  In the end, though, a guy's legacy will be ultimately determined by championships.

[ManUp]

I disagree.

I think Kobe is going to be the closest thing to Jordan we'll see in a while. If you want to talk about qualities most similar to Jordan you start with him. Class is irrelevant to how great a player is its all about Talent, Hard-work, and Determination.

Durant hasn't convinced me that he's anything more than a very talented and humble kid.

[ManUp]

Which of the above attributes doesn't Wade display?

Also, with Jordan, a lot of the "class" and "character" was probably a bit of a facade.  A lot of people thought he was a jerk, and he had his off-the-court issues with gambling, etc.

I hope fans buy into Durant and his star eventually shines brighter than Kobe's and Lebron's; he seems like a likable guy who is worth rooting for, whereas the other two are jerks and prima donnas.  In the end, though, a guy's legacy will be ultimately determined by championships.

Well said Hobbs, TP.

I totally agree.

[fairweatherfan]

I'd argue the opposite - we won't know Durant has truly arrived until he starts getting haters.  Up and comers are easy to love, but the true greats generate a mixture of seething hatred and grudging respect in other teams' fanbases, because true greats do a whole lot of winning and get as ugly as they need to do it.  Durant's not a legend til he starts p---ing people off.

[Donoghus]

Kevin Durant is the first Kevin Durant.  Not the next Jordan.

This guy is unique all in his own. 

[Fafnir]

Kevin Durant is the first Kevin Durant.  Not the next Jordan.

This guy is unique all in his own. 

He reminds me of KG more than anyone, except he focuses on scoring instead of defense. Both are unique talents for their body types.

But he's got SF agility, quickness, and skills; but he's near 7 feet tall according to Kevin Love and others.

[ScoobyDoo]

Yeah, good point FaFnir, this could be way too early. But I've been watching ball a long time. I think Durant is unique.

I also agree that some of the guys on the list, like Jordan and Bird had reps of being hard on teammates. But there's a difference to me between being a hard ass and donkey's ass.

Bird, Jordan, KG - hard assess.

Kobe, LeBron, Isaiah - donkey's assess.

And I don't put Kobe in this class because he's a Laker...he's proven time and again he's a preening self focused donkey's ass. As did/have Isaiah and LeBron with alot of their antics.

Dwayne Wade, he's solid but I don't think he's at these other guy's levels where he makes everyone around him better. He's just a great solo performer to me.

The truly great ones have an intangible ability to make other guys around them better because they're willing to share it all, it's not just about the spot light being on them, to them.

I can't put Kobe anywhere near Jordan, Bird or Magic. It's not just about rings to me.

It's an intangible quality. I think Durant has it, it's who he is. Same for Duncan, Garnett, Bird, Jordan, Magic, etc...

Some of these guys found the right situations early and they won rings, alot of them. Others, like KG didn't find it but they were always the same player, every night, without fail. Stockton and malone had it, even without the rings

It's about the game to these guys, it's never about them. It's about winning and bringing your teammates with you - as Russell said to KG when he arrived in Boston. He told KG he would get a ring, but he'd probably have to wrap his arms around the rest of the guys and carry them with him.

What Russell was saying was that Ray and paul were great, hall of fame players but they werent' KG. There is a difference. It just is what it is.

Anyway, to me, Durant has it all. I would fear a Durant lead team to a LeBron lead team of equal talent by a margin of about 3-1. Because for Durant the game isn't about him, it's about how he can win the game. That's all those guys are focused on and that's what makes the difference say, a Magic or Bird and a Kobe or a LeBron.

And I don't have alot of information about all these guys, but if you've watched bball long enough, you can tell who's who byt thw way they carry themselves and how they go about their business.

Durant is the Real Deal. The others are pretenders.

IMHO








    
  

[ScoobyDoo]

That's a good point Donoughus. True.

And if he's gets a decent team around him, he will carry them to some titles with his nose front and center, for the team, win or lose and without alot of self focus.

He's a throw back talent who's about the game and only the game when he's on the court.

[CelticHooligan3]

Yeah, good point FaFnir, this could be way too early. But I've been watching ball a long time. I think Durant is unique.

I also agree that some of the guys on the list, like Jordan and Bird had reps of being hard on teammates. But there's a difference to me between being a hard ass and donkey's ass.

Bird, Jordan, KG - hard assess.

Kobe, LeBron, Isaiah - donkey's assess.

And I don't put Kobe in this class because he's a Laker...he's proven time and again he's a preening self focused donkey's ass. As did/have Isaiah and LeBron with alot of their antics.

Dwayne Wade, he's solid but I don't think he's at these other guy's levels where he makes everyone around him better. He's just a great solo performer to me.

The truly great ones have an intangible ability to make other guys around them better because they're willing to share it all, it's not just about the spot light being on them, to them.

I can't put Kobe anywhere near Jordan, Bird or Magic. It's not just about rings to me.

It's an intangible quality. I think Durant has it, it's who he is. Same for Duncan, Garnett, Bird, Jordan, Magic, etc...

Some of these guys found the right situations early and they won rings, alot of them. Others, like KG didn't find it but they were always the same player, every night, without fail. Stockton and malone had it, even without the rings

It's about the game to these guys, it's never about them. It's about winning and bringing your teammates with you - as Russell said to KG when he arrived in Boston. He told KG he would get a ring, but he'd probably have to wrap his arms around the rest of the guys and carry them with him.

What Russell was saying was that Ray and paul were great, hall of fame players but they werent' KG. There is a difference. It just is what it is.

Anyway, to me, Durant has it all. I would fear a Durant lead team to a LeBron lead team of equal talent by a margin of about 3-1. Because for Durant the game isn't about him, it's about how he can win the game. That's all those guys are focused on and that's what makes the difference say, a Magic or Bird and a Kobe or a LeBron.

And I don't have alot of information about all these guys, but if you've watched bball long enough, you can tell who's who byt thw way they carry themselves and how they go about their business.

Durant is the Real Deal. The others are pretenders.

IMHO




    
 

Completely agree with this although Mr. Hobbs made some good points as well on the opposite side of the arguement. Personally I do tend to think he will become the next mega superstar ala Jordan due to physical attributes ( that are freakish in nature ) and that attitude he seems to have that scoobydoo keeps bringing up. That's what seperates the great ones. I guess I just think he seems to touch all the bases in ways I haven't seen since Jordan. Yes all the others touch some but this kid seems to transcend them all and seperate himself due to a determined will to win in any way possible and that all important old school demeanor that the purists look for to legitamize the talent. He has all this and more.

[ScoobyDoo]

Agreed. Look, Durant may never be the player I think he is but I'd be suprised.

If I had to pick a player between Kobe, LeBron, Wade and Durant, all in their youth starting out, based on what I['ve seen of all of them, I wouldn't even hesitate to choose Durant.

The main reason is that he is the ultimate team player and his guys will not ony follow him but will bust their cans for him. And that has alot to do with the personality of the player.

Durant just reminds me of these other truly great players the way he goes about the game.

It remains to be seen.

But I'd also say this, had we gotten the 1st or second pick in that draft and taken Durant...

Perkins
Jefferson
Durant
Pierce
Rondo

We also would have already won a ring as well, maybe 2 or 3. Durant, Rondo and Pierce would have been an absolute nightmare to deal with.

And moving forward with Durant, Rondo and Perkins would be a great foundation that you would only have to add a few key piieces to in order to be contending for the next 10 years...

[Fafnir]

Durant has a ton of potential, but he's yet to show he can become the complete player that Kobe, LeBron, and Wade are.

He needs to become the plus defender his physical skills should allow him to be and he also needs to become a playmaker for others. Until then he's more of a Carmello Anthony type. (though he's much better than Melo)

[mgent]

Durant has a ton of potential, but he's yet to show he can become the complete player that Kobe, LeBron, and Wade are.

He needs to become the plus defender his physical skills should allow him to be and he also needs to become a playmaker for others. Until then he's more of a Carmello Anthony type. (though he's much better than Melo)

I don't know if I'd say he's much better than Melo, I think they're pretty much the same caliber player.  They can both score and rebound, but not great passers or defenders (puts them behind LeBron/Wade/Kobe)

Durant last year had 30-8-3 on 47% shooting
Melo had 28-7-3 on 46% shooting

Carmelo on the better team.

[LilRip]

Durant is awesome. I don't know if he's the next Jordan but he's something special. After the Celtics, the Thunder are my next favorite team in the NBA and it's largely because of Kevin Durant. To take the next step, he needs to become more of a playmaker.



- LilRip