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When Brooklyn Nets stars James Harden and Kyrie Irving went down with injuries in their Eastern Conference Semifinals series with the Milwaukee Bucks all eyes shifted towards Kevin Durant.
Durant, a former NBA Most Valuable Player and a two-time NBA champion was put under a microscope. He had won two titles with superstar Stephen Curry on the Golden State Warriors, but many fans were thirsty to see if he could lead his team to victory in the face of adversity, like many of the all-time greats that have come before him
Durant showed up and showed out in the Nets’ second-round series with the Bucks as he put up 34.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game. This included herculean performances in Game 5 and Game 7 where he scored 49 and 48 points respectively. Despite a valiant effort from Durant, the absence of his co-stars was too much to overcome the firepower of the Bucks and they lost to Milwaukee in Game 7.
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Kendrick Perkins: “Kevin Durant Is Best in the World”
Although it was in a losing effort, Durant’s performance in the second round of the playoffs gained him even more respect within the NBA community. In the minds of many people, it solidified his status as the best player in the world over Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James. One of those people is his former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Kendrick Perkins.
“Here’s the thing… Kevin Durant IS the best player in the world and it’s about damn time somebody dethrone King James from being the best player in the world,” Perkins said to Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson of Bally Sports.
“We’re talking about a guy that’s going on Year 19. I don’t really know if LeBron James even cares about being the best player in the world anymore, going on at the age of 37, right? So, it’s about time that somebody finally stepped up to the plate and dethrone him because he’s been carrying the torch for so long.”
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Perkins Sounds off on Comparisons Between KD & Giannis
In the last three seasons alone, Bucks star, Giannis Antetokounmpo has won two NBA Most Valuable Player Awards, an NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award, an NBA Defensive Player of the Year award, and an NBA title. This had led some to believe that he is who has dethroned LeBron. Despite Giannis’ accolades, Perkins is still taking KD as the best in the world right now.
“Now here’s the debate and the arguments that you’re going to have that some people are going to come across is Giannis [Antetokounmpo] the best in the league or is it, Kevin Durant?” Perkins continued.
“I say Durant is the best player in the league because he’s the BEST offensive player that the game has ever seen, and he doesn’t get enough credit for what he brings on the defensive side of things.”
The Bucks and Nets could indeed meet in the playoffs for a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Semifinals. With Brooklyn coming back with a fully healthy squad and training camp to prepare, it is a series that could finally settle the score between the ‘Greek Freak’ and Durant.
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