I keep trying to come up with reasons to NOT give KD props, but this guy is absolutely amazing! Here are Durant's, LeBron's and His Airness' numbers for their 7th season.
What isn't reflected are two things about MJ: First, he wasn't just a good defender, but an elite one. Second, he was a better leader than those two.
Yeah, Kobe mindset and playing style is a carbon copy to Jordan. There a youtube video somewhere showing highlights of each other and every play looked the same to Jordan. I don't like Kobe but I can respect his game. I'm just glad we have players after Jordan that we can argue if they are better.
Jordan made a funny quote about Kobe stealing all of his moves. [video=youtube;lvJiYEJpSZk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvJiYEJpSZk[/video]
Wilkins didin't dominate anything like Durant does. More highlight reels than KD, but he wasn't near Durant's talent. Agree with those above that said MJ, LJ....KD. Go Blazers
Durant isn't the same defender or leader as MJ was or that LBJ is. LBJ gets a lot of crap for leaving Cleveland and just what he couldn't do with that cleveland roster but I look at it the other way. Its just amazing what LBJ did with that Cleveland roster. Could either LBJ or Durant bring themselves to the same tier as MJ? Sure they both have the otherworldly talent but its not something we will know until after their careers are done.
Jordan was so clutch. I'll always be a huge fan. Lebron is close but I agree hes more like magic than jordan. Durrant might have better nubers but he's not sharing rebounds with rodman. Jordan was a better defender, leader, and teammate.
Jordan baby. My god he gets up there. Is it my eyes playing tricks on me because of the short shorts, or what!
Jordan's PER was 2+ points higher than Durant, and he was a DPOY candidate. Durant hasn't made 2nd team all defense. LeBron is amazing for his size. He has Karl Malone's body (height, weight) and Pippen's defense and rebounding and assists. I think the Malone comparison is a good one. Malone was the better rebounder, LeBron the point guard skills. Both MVP and all nba 1st team defense. Both great outside shooters. Mailman didn't deliver a championship. But he did put up a 27+ PER at age 36 and 24+ at age 37. Jordan scored 60+ five times. LeBron once, Durant never. Jordan played PG, primary ball handler role, for most of a season. He averaged 32.5/8/8 with ~3 steals. Jordan had 15 triple doubles that season, only 25 for his whole career. 32.5/8/8 is near triple double for the whole season. The Bulls won 6 championships with Jordan. None without him. He missed 2 seasons between two threepeats or it may well have been 8 straight. Pippen missed a key game 7 against Detroit the season before or it might have been 9. That's Bill Russell territory. The Bulls won their final championship with 34 year old Jordan, 36 year old Rodman, 34 year old Harper, and 32 year old Pippen. I'm not sure any team has ever broken up a dynasty after winning a championship. If they stayed together, they may have won another or two. At age 39, Jordan had a 19+ PER for Washington, and I figure he was still a top 15 player in the league. That was 6 years later. Pippen was the Blazers' starting PG that season (beat out Stoudemire) and led the team to a 52-30 record.
