Kevin Durant’s Scoring Mastery: Insights from Teammates

Kevin Durant: A Scoring Phenomenon Through the Years

When you think of Kevin Durant, the first thing that comes to mind is his Instagram handle, @easymoneysniper. It perfectly encapsulates his effortless scoring ability. From his early days as a lanky teenager in the NBA to his current status as one of the league’s most prolific scorers, Durant has always made scoring look easy. His teammates, including fellow future Hall of Famers, have consistently marveled at his smooth, simple, and pure scoring style.

As Kyrie Irving, a former teammate from the Brooklyn Nets and Team USA, put it, “He’s that guy that you see almost like a monument in a science museum of just like, what does a great scorer look like? Seven feet, able to handle the ball, able to shoot over anybody, but also a fierce competitor.”

Durant’s scoring prowess was evident even before he reached his prime. By the age of 25, he had already won four NBA scoring titles, a feat surpassed only by Michael Jordan (10) and Wilt Chamberlain (7). His precision is remarkable, as he joins Larry Bird and Steve Nash as the only players in NBA history with multiple 50/40/90 shooting-split seasons. At 36, Durant shows no signs of slowing down, averaging 27.1 points this season, matching his career average that ranks sixth all time. This marks the 16th season Durant has averaged at least 25 points, second only to LeBron James (20).

Durant is on the brink of another milestone, just 94 points shy of joining the exclusive 30,000-point club as he enters Friday’s game against the Golden State Warriors (10 p.m. ET on ESPN). As he approaches this achievement, several of his teammates over the years have shared insights into what makes Durant one of the most unique and complete scorers in basketball history.

Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder: 2007 to 2016

Durant’s journey began with the Seattle SuperSonics, where he won Rookie of the Year during their final season in Seattle. He quickly became the face of the franchise after their move to Oklahoma City. The Thunder drafted Russell Westbrook and James Harden in subsequent lotteries, forming a nucleus of three future MVPs. Durant shone the brightest, winning his first scoring title in his third season with an average of 30.1 points.

During a five-year span, Durant claimed four scoring crowns and joined the prestigious 50/40/90 club. He won the 2013-14 MVP at 25, averaging a career-best 32.0 points. The Thunder seemed destined for multiple championships when Durant led them to the 2012 NBA Finals at age 23. However, they never returned to that stage, as Harden was traded, and injuries and the Golden State dynasty thwarted their efforts. Durant eventually left in free agency in 2016.

• Nick Collison: “There were other guys that were changing the game, but it was more like bigs who could shoot and maybe put it on the floor a little bit in straight lines. He could really play on the perimeter and he’s 7 feet tall. That was what hit me right away. … He’s doing a move like a 6-foot-5 guy, but all of a sudden he’s at the rim and he’s barely jumping. He’s reaching out and dunking the ball. I just hadn’t seen it before. … To do it at 7 feet, no one had done it like that and very few guys have done it since.”
• Jeff Green: “It’s rare that you have seen a guy who is a legit 7-foot who can handle how he handles but also stop. He stops under control to get to a shot. You can’t block it. … I’ve never seen — in recent history, today’s game — a guy that tall with the handle that he has [and] that’s super smooth that can do what he does.”
• James Harden: “His change of pace, change of direction … he’ll get you leaning one way and once he crosses back over, he’s so tall that if you’re not on his hip, he’s shooting right over you or he’s getting to the basket. That right there automatically is just a different type of a handle for a 7-footer. You really don’t see that. I don’t see [another] guy at 7 feet that can shoot it fluidly like him and handle the rock and do the things he do.”
• Kendrick Perkins: “KD’s post-up game — midpost [and] at the elbow — I think that’s what he’s mastered. He mastered that from having a lot of battles in the Western Conference against Dirk Nowitzki. Then you see him add so much to his game. Whether that’s the turnaround over both shoulders, whether that’s the one-legged fadeaway. I think adding that to his game helped him elevate in all other areas. Once he mastered that, eight out of 10 times it’s going in or he’s going to the foul line.”

Golden State Warriors: 2016 to 2019

Durant faced criticism for joining a Golden State team that had just set a record with 73 wins. However, the results speak for themselves. Durant’s scoring numbers dipped while sharing the ball with the Splash Brothers, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, but he was a dominant force for some all-time great teams. The Warriors reached the Finals in all three of Durant’s seasons, winning titles in the first two years. Durant was the Finals MVP on both occasions, averaging 35.2 points in the 2017 series victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers and 28.8 points in the next season’s sweep.

Durant’s time with the Warriors ended in disappointment after a season filled with turmoil and speculation about his free agency. He missed a month during the playoffs due to a calf strain before returning for Game 5 of the Finals against the Toronto Raptors. Unfortunately, he ruptured an Achilles tendon, marking his final moments in a Golden State uniform. Despite the setback, it was a historic three-year run.

• Stephen Curry: “Pure talent and work ethic. I mean, it doesn’t happen by accident. He’s been blessed with a certain skill set with his height. You can’t really rush him. He can see over pretty much most defenders. And if there’s a taller guy on, he can use his counters and all that to get good looks. But you have to worry about all three levels, and he can put it on the floor, too. So it’s kind of pick your poison.”
• Zaza Pachulia: “He could score anywhere — inside, outside. If you just look at his inside game, it was as good as anyone else, either post-up or attacking the rim. His outside shooting was as good as Steph — shooting over the people, shooting on the move.”
• Klay Thompson: “How many 7-footers can shoot the ball from that deep like him? Maybe Dirk, Wemby now. His ball skills and his shooting touch is what I’m so impressed with. I’ve seen him shoot over everybody. I think I get him from 3, but his midrange is the best I’ve ever seen.”
• Draymond Green: “I mean, there’s no bad shot for him. He’s 7-feet, dribbles the ball like a point guard, shoots the ball like shooting guards, dunks the ball like centers. … If you’re a little behind, he’s 7-feet so it don’t affect his shot. You have to be right on him in order to get a contest to where it affects him at all. And you can get that same contest and he still will make it.”
• Curry: “It’s a combination of being a three-level scorer and the efficiency that he has had his whole career. I know we’re both kind of obsessed with the 50/40/90 pursuit — and he got it one year [in Golden State] — but the way he does it is totally different than the way I do it. Just the fact that he’s such a graceful, efficient scorer no matter what defense you really throw at him, to do it for that many years is really impressive. So there’s a reason people talk about him as the greatest legitimate scorer ever.”

Brooklyn Nets: 2019 to 2023

Durant teamed up with his friend Irving in free agency and later reunited with Harden via a trade from the Houston Rockets to form a superteam in Brooklyn. The potential was worth the wait as Durant sat out the first year recovering from an Achilles injury. However, the Nets’ superteam fizzled, playing only 16 games together before breaking up due to drama and dysfunction.

Brooklyn came close to success, with Durant’s memorable toes-on-the-3-point-line jumper in Game 7 of the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals against the Milwaukee Bucks. Instead of a game-winner, it sent the game into overtime, and the Bucks, eventual champions, prevailed. The Nets never won another playoff game, and Durant’s time in Brooklyn ended with controversy involving his co-stars, leading to trades for Harden and Irving. Durant was the last to leave as the Nets began a rebuild.

• Harden: “He don’t care where you at. You could be a tall defender, shorter defender. Once he raises up, all he sees is that rim. It’s unbelievable.”
• Royce O’Neale: “He’s stronger than you think and he looks. He uses his body and his athleticism to shoot over you, to get to the elbows. His hesi pull, you might know it’s coming, but he’s still getting it off. It’s just all the hard work and routine for him and the craft that he puts in. Once he gets there, you better hope he misses, but it’s tough. You can’t block it. It’s a high-arching shot. I always say he’s the toughest player I’ve had to guard.”
• Jeff Green: “Obviously he’s a volume shooter, but the efficiency of how he scores, it’s not like he’s going 6-for-25. He’s going a cool 13-for-19, 14-for-20. It’s not like people are making him miss. If he misses, it’s because he missed. And he makes a lot of tough shots.”
• Kyrie Irving: “He’s a scientist out there. He’s always hovering around 50/40/90. Man, he’s like an efficient machine when it comes to breaking down how he goes about scoring and doing it for so long.”
• Spencer Dinwiddie: “He’s just really good at, no matter where he is at on the floor, just kind of getting square up to the basket and then [shooting with a] high release point. And obviously you’re not going to block it. The balance, the rhythm and all that stuff, it’s just something you’ve never seen from a 7-footer before. KD’s just pure skill. He’s just smooth. We ain’t never seen nothing like it. We probably never will, to be honest.”

Phoenix Suns: 2023 to Present

Mat Ishbia made a significant move as Suns owner, acquiring Durant to pair with All-Star shooting guard Devin Booker. The trade cost the Suns key players Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson, along with four unprotected first-round picks and a swap.

Durant’s scoring brilliance continues in Phoenix, but the Suns’ front office has struggled to build a contender-caliber supporting cast around him and Booker. Despite Durant’s continued excellence, the Suns find themselves in play-in territory.

• Bradley Beal: “People don’t really understand how good his feet are. Granted for his size, too, just his ability to be able to get by his defender with the first quick step, whether that’s with a jab or just a simple just catch and rip. … I think that’s probably what separates him from a lot of guys, is just that continuity of being able to constantly get to your spot without any resistance almost. … As a defender, you have to press up on him because [if] you sit off of him, he can just rise up over you. But the minute you press up on him, he’s really talented enough to get low, sweep through, jab you one way and you’re gone.”
• O’Neale: “He knows exactly where he wants to get and what type of shots he wants to shoot. I think the fact that he’s unpredictable in a lot of it matters. You never know if he’s going to hit you with a pull-up, drive, fadeaway. He’s just got so many things that he can counteract with. That makes him so tough to guard — just his counterattacks versus you, the way he sees the game and the way he shoots the ball.”
• Tyus Jones: “Practice, games — he shoots at a high clip all the time. It’s very impressive and it’s motivating to be around that, to be around the greatness of that and to see his work ethic. He — knock on wood — rarely has an off night. He’s able to get to his spots, he scores at every level, different ways, going right, going left. So I would say the efficiency is just the most impressive. He’s not shooting a ton of shots to score a bunch of points.”
• Mason Plumlee: “It feels like he’s never forced a shot. The thing that kind of also made me think of that was I was watching him do a podcast with JJ [Redick], and JJ is like, ‘Why don’t one game you just shoot it every time? You can raise up over and just [shoot].’ He’s a pure basketball player, so he’s not going to take bad shots [although] he has every right to, and nobody would say anything to him if he wants to. So even his end-of-clock, tough shots against two guys, he makes ’em look fundamental. I mean, it’s amazing. Some guys that hit two, three shots in a row, they’re shooting the next one. The heat check will be just a disgusting shot. And Kev just takes good shots.”
• Jones: “You put smaller guys on him, he shoots over the top of them. Put bigger guys on him, he’s going to make them dance. So it’s just a mismatch and he scores very, very effortlessly.”
• Beal: “You try not to be a fanboy, but it’s amazing to see for sure.”
• Devin Booker: “We’ve never seen it before. Everyone tries to emulate it, and we still haven’t seen it. So he’s just a one-of-a-kind type player and the greatest scorer to ever live.”

ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Michael C. Wright and ESPN Research’s Matt Williams contributed to this report.