Kevin Durant has surely had a busy season thus far. Durant started the year with the Brookyln Nets, once again running it back with Kyrie Irving. Then, in early February, he was traded to the Phoenix Suns in a blockbuster deal that Phoenix hoped would cement themselves as a championship contender. That hasn’t panned out, and now Phoenix finds themselves one loss away from elimination against the Denver Nuggets in the 2nd round of the playoffs. In his defense, Durant has done everything he can to keep Phoenix alive. In this series, he’s averaging just under 30 points per game while shooting over 60% from the floor. He’s been efficient even without star point guard Chris Paul for most of the series.
However, while it may seem unfair, the trade the Suns made will feel like a failure if they don’t at least make it to the NBA FInals. Durant was brought in to win. New ownership for the Suns saw a golden opportunity (pun intended) and struck while the iron was hot. While Durant isn’t a reason why they’re losing, he needs to be the reason why they win. Durant can really change much of his legacy and how he is perceived if he’s able to lead a come from behind victory against the Nuggets. The winner of this series will have homecourt advantage in the WCF, regardless of who wins between the Lakers and Warriors.
Being the undisputed leader who brings a flawed team to the Finals with a real choice to win a ring would sure do wonders for Durant’s legacy and how he is viewed by millions of fans. Now the only question is whether or not he can come through.