Player in focus: Kevin Durant and his journey so far with the Brooklyn Nets | NBA Season 2020-21

Kevin Durant is one of the biggest names in basketball. He was a phenomenon even before he entered the league. In 2007, even before he drafted to the league, he had practiced with a Team USA which included the likes of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, among others.

Durant has always been regarded as one of the most unguardable players in the NBA as he is a 7-footer who has handles and a jump shot like a guard but can also get in the lane with dominance.

KEVIN DURANT WITH AUTHORITY 🔨 pic.twitter.com/G19SoPS92o

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) April 11, 2021

Kevin Durant left the Golden State Warriors in free agency and joined the Brooklyn Nets in 2019. He suffered an Achilles tear during the 2019 NBA Finals and sat out the entire 2019-20 season.

Role with the Brooklyn Nets

Kevin Durant shoots a floater against the Cleveland Cavaliers

Kevin Durant's exact role with the Brooklyn Nets hasn't been easy to define. In the limited number of games he has played, coach Steve Nash has experimented with KD in all 5 positions. His height and skill set allow him to be at any spot on the floor and he's undoubtedly be great at whatever role he is asked to play.

Kevin Durant says he expects to spend time playing at the four and the five. He said he doesn’t have a set number of minutes in mind to play in pre-season games, but he hopes to get a feel for what sort of load his body can take coming off the Achilles injury.

— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) December 9, 2020

At the beginning of pre-season, Steve Nash attended JJ Redick's podcast, "The Old Man and the Three," and said he plans to tap into Kevin Durant's versatility and use him in all sorts of scenarios possible. Nash said, via the New York Post,

"Kevin, with his length, is a matchup problem for everyone...[Kyrie Irving's] excellent off the ball. Kevin can play all five positions, and I plan to use him in all five positions."

Kevin Durant has been highly appreciative of Nash as well. He was excited to play for Nash in Brooklyn and GM Sean Marks said he took KD's approval before offering Nash a coaching deal. Durant spoke about Nash via ESPN,

"His insight for the game, his communication, how he communicates the game of basketball is definitely going to help me as a player develop and it's going to help the rest of the team...Every time I'm in the gym with him, I was always like a sponge. I'm looking forward to this man. I always feel like I'm a student of the game. Somebody who has experienced so much and played in different eras, I'm looking forward to him teaching me some more things about it as well."

Interestingly, Steve Nash served as the player development consultant for the Golden State Warriors during the time Durant played there and they already had a well-established relationship before teaming up at the Nets.

To put it simply, Kevin Durant's role with the Brooklyn Nets is to get the team a bucket in any way possible regardless of the circumstances and position he plays in.

Season so far

Kevin Durant's season so far has been underwhelming as he has missed more games than he has played in. Also known as the "Slim Reaper," Durant has played in just 22 games so far as injuries continue to keep him off the court. He is coming off an Achilles injury, arguably one of the worst injuries in pro-basketball, as history tells us that most players who go through Achilles tears don't usually come back the same.

However, Durant is his usual self whenever he is on the court. He played six of the first seven games, averaging 22.4 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists on 51/45/88 shooting splits. After then missing three games due to rest and Achilles rehab, he returned and played 12 of the next 14 games, averaging 30.2 points, 7.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists on 53/45/86 shooting splits.

Update: Kevin Durant is still unguardable‼️(via @NBATV)pic.twitter.com/gtrc6jCwpy

— The Crossover (@TheCrossover) December 19, 2020

However, Kevin Durant injured his hamstring and then went on to miss 26 of the Nets' next 27 games. He played just one game in that stretch against his old team, the Golden State Warriors.

Kevin Durant with the Brooklyn Nets

After being absent for weeks, he made his return recently on April 7th against the New Orleans Pelicans. He dropped 17 points off the bench, shooting 5-5 from the field, including 2-2 from the three-point range. Kevin Durant's return gave hope to all Brooklyn fans that their superstar forward can still perform at a high level and that injuries aren't affecting his game.

KEVIN DURANT had a perfect shooting night in his return. 17 PTS in 19 MINS5/5 FG, 5/5 FT, 2/2 3PT7 REB, 5 ASTKD: “I expected to come out here and play how I played.” pic.twitter.com/cPD54QxHHp

— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) April 8, 2021

Kevin Durant is averaging 28.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.2 assists along with 0.6 steals and 1.3 blocks per game for the season. He has 60.6% effective shooting from the field on roughly 18 shot attempts per game, including 6 attempts from three. KD has not scored below 20 points in all but 2 games this season. He has recorded 10 30+ point outings, including one game where he dropped 42.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Kevin Durant taking a shot while Russell Westbrook tries to block him

Kevin Durant is considered unguardable because of his unique skill-set. A 7-footer who shoots and moves around like a guard is a tough matchup for any defender. He shoots over defenders with ease and can cross over and evade any player in front of him as well.

Durant has an unlimited number of moves in his arsenal. He can pull up from anywhere beyond half-court, can get in the lane for a lay-up or a floater, and his fade-away mid-range shot is practically unfair for defenders guarding him.

Kevin Durant is often regarded as one of the top 5 players to ever play the game, and he still has years left. He shoots 31.5% of his shots from the three-point range, making 43.4% of them. 16.7% of his attempts come from 0 to 3 feet from the basket and he converts 78.3% of those.

His second-highest attempts (23.1%) come from the deep mid-range area (10 to 16 feet from the basket) and he makes a remarkable 54.2% of those shots.

He is an offensive force like no other and the only thing that can be considered a drawback in his game is his average defense. However, he drastically improved his defense at Golden State as he wasn't asked to carry the burden of the offense, with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson present. As he isn't the sole scorer on this star-studded Brooklyn Nets team as either, he is actively present on the defensive end of the floor.

.@RealSkipBayless on KD dropping 17 points on 5-of-5 shooting in his Nets return: "I would like to welcome back the best player on the planet! Kevin Durant immediately left rust in the dust. And he did it off the bench." pic.twitter.com/rNGHu7f7Zm

— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) April 8, 2021

The only chink in KD's armor is his off-the-court shenanigans. He is often found in the news for getting into a squabble with some celebrity or online troll. Durant was recently fined $50,000 for derogatory messages sent to actor Michael Rapaport. Not long after that, he got into a Twitter feud with NBA analyst Shannon Sharpe from the popular sports debate show, "Undisputed".

He is never not in the public spotlight as his social media faux pas keep going viral. Nevertheless, Kevin Durant's personal life has never affected his game on the court as he keeps sinking bucket after bucket whenever he is out on the floor.

Expectations from Kevin Durant going forward

The Brooklyn Nets 'Big 3'

The main question all year has been around Kevin Durant's health. Will he be able to stay fit for the playoffs and the NBA Finals? Durant's health is extremely crucial for the Brooklyn Nets' playoff run, even though they have James Harden and Kyrie Irving.

If Kevin Durant manages to stay healthy, then the Nets will be an offensive force like no other.

The Brooklyn Nets 'Big 3' of Irving, Durant and Harden have played in just 7 games together. Many analysts have said that there is little to no chance of developing chemistry between the superstars in such a scenario. Kevin Durant needs to play off-ball a lot and deliver buckets whenever necessary.

The coach and the rest of the team are entirely aware of his injury history and vulnerabilities, so he won't be asked to bear a bigger load or be expected to have a meaningful defensive presence come playoff time.

The league knows how clutch he is and given his two Finals MVPs, we know he doesn't crumble under the pressure of the bright lights of the NBA Finals. If all goes according to plan and he remains healthy, Kevin Durant might be crowned an NBA champion for the third time this season.