Kevin Durant - Lockdown

Kevin Durant has elevated his play on defense. He’s a 7 footer with somewhere around a 7’4” wingspan. KD is quick, athletic, and explosive on both ends. He’s obviously one of the most lethal players on the offense (4x scoring champion, 2014 NBA MVP, perpetual 50-40-90 club threat), but he’s grown quite a bit defensively. Defense cannot really be quantified by steals and blocks, but all it takes is a set of eyes to notice KD’s dominance on the defensive end when he exerts his will on opponents.

Obviously, Golden State and San Antonio were the two front runners to come out of the West this season. They combined to go 140-24, but the dynamic duo in Oklahoma might see themselves as this generation’s Clutch City (the 95 Rockets knocked off four 50 win teams on their way to a championship. I don’t know if anyone has ever beaten two 60 win teams before, but I think that’s near equivalent). Whether or not the Thunder can ascend to an NBA championship, the work that they’ve put in these playoffs has to be taken note of. If they do make it back to the Finals, and the Longhorn can play like the reel I’ve put together, well, you know what they say: defense wins championships.

KD’s length has caused serious problems for every team in the league, but his tenacity on defense has been especially fun to watch. These are strictly regular season highlights (not even of the entire season), but based on the way he’s been rolling these playoffs, it looks like I’m going to have to make a postseason edition of this as well. Enjoy!

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