Where's Nets Ex Kevin Durant on 21st Century Player Ranking?

Former Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant has been one of the greatest players this century.

Jan 31, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) warms up before a game against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Former Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant will go down as one of the greatest players to pick up a basketball.

While it ended on a sour note, the Nets are thankful to have one of the greatest players ever play in Brooklyn for three years of his career from 2020-23.

ESPN ranked the best players of the 21st century and listed Durant as the 9th-best player since 2000.

"He had proved himself as one of the best scorers to ever play the game, a four-time scoring champion who had won the previous two NBA Finals MVPs, a blend of size and skill that had never been seen before. Then he averaged 41.5 points the rest of that series as the Warriors finished off the Clippers. As he has bounced from team to team, there has been one constant about KD's identity: When he's healthy, he has always been impossible to guard," ESPN reporter Tim MacMahon writes.

The only players to be ranked ahead of Durant were Dwyane Wade, Nikola Jokic, Kevin Garnett, Shaquille O'Neal, Tim Duncan, Stephen Curry, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, all of whom will be in the Hall of Fame if they aren't there already.

While Durant's Nets tenure was short, he left an impact on the franchise that won't be forgotten any time soon.

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