Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant was nowhere to be found on Bleacher Report’s new top-10 NBA player rankings.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!BR’s Andy Bailey put together a list of the top NBA players ahead of the start of The Finals tonight when factoring in playoff success.
These were his top-10 players:
- Nikola Jokić
- Luka Dončić
- Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- Jayson Tatum
- Joel Embiid
- LeBron James
- Stephen Curry
- Anthony Edwards
- Jalen Brunson
Even at age 35 and five years removed from an Achilles tear, Durant, who has been widely regarded as a top-10 player for over a decade now, averaged the fifth-most points in the NBA at 27.1 per game on 52.3/41.3/85.6 shooting splits to go along with 6.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists across 75 games for the 49-33 Suns.
However, Phoenix was swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Durant averaged 26.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists in these four losses.
Looking more in depth at this list, Antetokounmpo, Embiid, James and Curry were all on teams that either did not make the playoffs or were eliminated in the first round.
Durant finished ninth in MVP voting this season after having one of his best seasons both offensively and defensively. He and Domantas Sabonis were the only MVP finalists to not be mentioned on this list.
The complete voting results for the 2023-24 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player. pic.twitter.com/Dqbd7MaRjC
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 8, 2024
Durant was also named to the All-NBA Second Team. Kawhi Leonard was the only other player not featured in these rankings that made either the All-NBA First or Second Team.
With that being said, since leaving the Golden State Warriors in 2019, none of Durant’s teams have made it past the second round of the playoffs.
Does this lack of recent playoff success leave Durant outside the top 10 or do you think he still deserves the recognition as a top-10 player in the NBA?
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
