2015-2016 Season Grades: Kevin Durant

For much of the offseason, fans and media alike have been obsessing over the enormity of the forthcoming season for superstar forward Kevin Durant. Every week introduced a new possible landing spot for the soon to be free agent, each involving some sort of personal connection to Durant. You see, going into a contract year is one thing but entering a contract year coming off a serious injury is a whole other beast, one which KD battled to brush off as he entered training camp.

“I feel great,” Durant told reporters in September. “I’m ready to go. I did everything necessary in order for me to be back on the court. It’s an exciting time for Thunder basketball and myself.”

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A procedure as serious as a bone-graft surgery could easily derail any player’s career. A sixth man? Ah, let’s scour the free agent pool. A starting big man? Plug in a useful bench guy or go the trade route. A former MVP and seven time NBA All-Star? That could derail an entire franchise and it’s city.

But hey, let’s all take one collective sigh of relief here. We made it through. KD is back better than ever, and as I am writing this, gearing up for what is guaranteed to be one hell of a playoff campaign. The reunion with deadline acquisitions Enes Kanter, Kyle Singler, and DJ Augustin (short-lived), though it started rather bumpy, finally came to fruition and the complete team we yearned for years was playing solid basketball nightly.

Furthermore, Durant’s first season under rookie head coach Billy Donovan had a ‘let’s get down to business’ vibe to it since day 1 and was just the mood needed to achieve 55 wins, another division banner, and a return into the contention window in which the Thunder were tossed out of a year ago.

How exactly did Durant fare in this season’s player grades? Let’s take a look.

Offense

Even during an injury ravaged 2014-2015 campaign where hardware issues with his foot surgery limited him to just 27 games, Durant still managed to put up a stat line of 25 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Of course it’s only 27 games, but every time he limped onto the court he showed us glimpses of his usually greatness. As much as it pained us fans to watch Mr. Thunder struggle, we just knew at the back of our minds that his return next season would be a scary sight.

In a season where Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors continue to dominate the headlines, KD’s absolute domination in OKC has flown under the radar for the most part.

Number 35 had an exceptional “remind them I’m alive” tour this year averaging 28.2 points, 8.2 rebounds (career high), and 5.0 assists per game. He finished 3rd in points per game (28.2), 2nd in PER (28.2), 2nd in True Shooting Percentage (.634), and 2nd in win shares (14.5). Let’s not forget Durant ranked high in these categories all while commanding a usage percentage of 30.6 (top 10 in the NBA) and playing alongside Russell Westbrook who ranked 5th in the NBA with a usage percentage 31.6.

All in all, I think we all got to see a more patient, rejuvenated Durant this season. From game winners to putting reporters in their place, it was the return of the vintage Slim Reaper we all missed so dearly last season.

Defense

Durant has always been known to utilize his wiry frame to make plays on the defensive end, but in all honesty his name doesn’t come up much in top defender conversations. The stats don’t really help either. The lanky forward posted a career high in rebounds this season and 21.8% of them have been on the defensive end. People may call that stat padding, but in the end, being in those position to grab rebounds means Durant seems to battling in the tough areas more this season.

Next: Is Josh Huestis the answer?

In terms of overall impact on the defensive end for OKC as a whole, Durant doesn’t seem to make much of a ripple statistically as he ranks 132nd in the NBA in Defensive Real Plus Minus and sits just outside the top 20 in Defensive Win Shares.

Stats don’t prove it, but the potential KD has to make those clutch plays defensively every night is of value.

Overall Grade: A-