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QTBM Part III: Is Kevin Durant A Superstar?
Written by Dennis Velasco   
Wednesday, 30 September 2009 00:00

durant-star

Every weekday until the NBA season starts on October 27th, I will be asking a question that's bugging me (QTBM) about the upcoming campaign and attempt to answer my own query.  Comments are welcome.

There's a lot of talk this offseason of how much Kevin Durant is going to take that next step in his third season into being a legit superstar.  He reaped accolades from Jerry Colangelo, head of USA Basketball, during the summer and Colangelo said that Durant will have a place found for him on the team.  High praise considering Team USA is the defending Olympic gold medal winning squad.  That said, how much of the talk is warranted?

Here's what we know - Durant just turned 21-years-old yesterday, is 6'9", has a ridiculously long 7'5" wingspan, a pleasant demeanor, as well as a non-pleasant one on the court as he wrecked opponents for 25.3 points per game in only his second season in the league last season.  Durant is the main reason people talk of his Oklahoma City Thunder being a team to watch this upcoming campaign.  Is he really that good?  Well, yes.

There aren't many players his height that can shoot from the perimeter the way he can.  Dirk Nowitzki quickly comes to mind and that is a fair comparison as both are able to either shoot over shorter defenders or take bigger and slower players to the basket.  However, Durant hasn't even tapped his full potential at this point.

Durant can improve his strength, which will enable him to fight down low for boards as well as convert in traffic and after a hard foul.  In college he averaged double-digit rebounds (11.1) during his lone season at the University of Texas, but hasn't come close to averaging as many at the NBA level (career 5.4 RPG).  Part of that is the lack of strength, but also the position he's played to start his career - shooting guard.  However, now that he's at the three full-time, he'll get more opportunities.

Defensively, his length should disrupt passing lanes and even reject some shots on dropdowns into the post or chasing players on the break.  He has the tools to be as good as Kevin Garnett as a help defender, which would, obviously, make him an overall dangerous player for his opponents.

I expect Durant's numbers to improve from last season's averages of 25.3 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 1.3 3PTM, 1.3 SPG, 47.6 FG%, 86.3 FT%.  However, as much as his stats will be better, so will Durant's maturity and intangibles as he goes through his third season around the league.  Superstar?  As much as I love his game and laid-back way about him, it's still a bit premature to annoint him as such.  Durant is a star, certainly, but until more people other than fantasy basketball geeks know about Durant's game, which will be a tougher task because of the market he plays in, the "super" is too early to add.

A trip to the All-Star game, and more importantly the NBA postseason, will go a long way in getting that "super" adjective before "star."

Previous QTBM:

9.28.09 - Part I: Can The Lost Angeles Clippers Make A Big Jump This Season?
9.29.09 - Part II: Can LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal Co-Exist?



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Comments (3)Add Comment
...
written by mleetch352, September 30, 2009
I dont necessarily disagree with the premise of the article, but with the number of players given the label he certainly qualifies. I expect him to take the next step because if you look at his numbers for January and February before his ankle injury he was averaging 30 pts and 8 rebounds, shooting 51.3% from the floor, 45% from 3 and getting 1.5 steals per in the 24 games leading up to it. Those are superstar numbers.

We can argue about whether the definition of the word should only include players on winning teams or not, and that speaks a lot to your question about All-Star teams, but his numbers are right there with a Danny Granger who made it because he plays in the East. As far as W-L, I expect the Thunder to improve to a 30-35 win team this season and compete for the playoffs next year and when he carries them there you can also add the "super" in front of "star"
I dont know you....
written by dillon, September 30, 2009
but you are so wrong. I couldn't even read you article...no offense. I am a piece of shit fan, really I am, Durant is bad assssss right now and he got robbed of an all star spot. Superstar for sure, yes! he is! damn he's good, and only getting better. You always hear aboutplayers making the all star team the year after they deserve it. Look for durant to make the all star squad or maybe even all pro.
Not until he plays defense well enough to win
written by tocsnai, October 06, 2009
Mentioning Durant in the same breath with Kevin Garnett defensively is a stretch of epic proportions right now. By any *performance* measure you care to look at -- it's nice he's tall and has long arms, but Yinka Dare had those same qualities -- Durant was a defensive train wreck last season. Saying he has the potential to play well there is a lot like saying Corey Brewer has the potential to be a shooting forward. Okay, but right now each of them is a major liability on one end of the floor. It so happens Durant's good at the things that make for big contracts, but he still has to play *some* defense to help his team win. And stars? Help their teams win.

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