NBA Draft Throwback: 5 most valuable picks since 2000

#2 Kevin Durant – Seattle Supersonics, 2007

Oklahoma City Thunder’s forward Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant is a pure scorer but one like we have never seen before. You don’t associate a lot of 6 foot 9 inches forward with a wingspan of Durant’s (7 feet 4.75 inches) to shoot 48.3% from the field for their career. Some high volume shooters at that height that instantly come to mind are Larry Bird and Dirk Nowitzki. Durant differentiates himself from both of those legends in unique ways. His ball handling is far superior to that of Nowitzki’s.

The evolution of the game has also helped Durant grow as a ball handler and there aren’t a lot of players with his wingspan and his handles at his height. When it comes to Bird, Durant is a lot longer and agile. His agility at his size makes players of his height too slow and the players with his agility are far too short to have any impact on his jumper.

Having said that, Durant’s biggest positive and quality is his scoring. His jumper has one of the sweetest strokes this game has ever seen and to knock down the shot after a crossover for a player of his height, is something this league has never seen. Durant is a physically gifted no doubt but his constant work ethic has been the key to shooting to 50% from the field on a high volume of shots.

The Seattle Supersonics (now Oklahoma City Thunder) had drafted Durant number 2 overall in the 2007 Draft. With the unique talent that they acquired, the franchise set about a successful rebuild around Durant with smart draft decisions in the coming years.