PHOENIX — Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant placed in the high 30s on ESPN’s rankings of the top-100 professional athletes since 2000.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!On the list compiled from more than 70,000 votes by ESPN contributors, Durant was graded as the No. 39 athlete of this century so far.
#39: Kevin Durant
☄️ 2x Champion
☄️ 2x Finals MVP
☄️ 14x All-Star
☄️ 11x All-NBA
☄️ 4x Scoring Champion
☄️ 2013-14 MVP
☄️ 2007-08 ROY pic.twitter.com/beV32LHN5V— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) July 18, 2024
Some other NBA players that ranked ahead of Durant include Dwyane Wade (No. 35) and Nikola Jokić (No. 28). Dirk Nowitzki (No. 41) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (No. 42) were just a couple spots behind Durant.
In describing Durant on the list, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon writes:
“‘I’m Kevin Durant. You know who I am. Y’all know who I am.’ That was Durant’s conclusion to a lengthy answer about pesky Patrick Beverley’s defense against him (with a whole lot of help, as Durant noted) early in a 2019 playoff series. Durant’s point: He had proved himself as one of the best scorers to ever play the game, a four-time scoring champion who had won the previous two NBA Finals MVPs, a blend of size and skill that had never been seen before. Then he averaged 41.5 points the rest of that series as the Warriors finished off the Clippers. As he has bounced from team to team, there has been one constant about KD’s identity: When he’s healthy, he has always been impossible to guard.”
ESPN also listsDurant’s “key accomplishments” as: NBA 75th Anniversary team, two-time champion, two-time Finals MVP, 14-time All-Star, two-time All-Star Game MVP, 2013-14 MVP, 10-time All-NBA, four-time scoring leader, 2007-08 Rookie of the Year.
Even at age 35 and five years removed from an Achilles tear, Durant still played in 75 games this past season, his first full season with the Suns, and averaged the fifth-most points in the NBA at 27.1 per game on .523/.413/.856 shooting splits to go along with 6.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists after only playing eight regular season games for Phoenix in the 2022-23 season. The 16-year veteran forward was then named to the All-NBA Second Team, the 11th time he has received All-NBA honors in his career.
Suns legend and Durant’s former coach with the Nets, Steve Nash, placed 51st on ESPN’s list.
Do you think Durant should have ranked higher?
Steve Nash ranked No. 51 on ESPN’s list of top-100 professional athletes since 2000
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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
