If Durant had a superior body. He'd easily be better than Jordan.

[JohnMax]

http://i.imgur.com/79c7dOg.png

[J Shuttlesworth]

What exactly do you mean when you say pure scorer?

[KendrickPerkins]

Kevin Durant is the best player in the world, period.

[MavsSuperFan]

How is durant's body bad? (basketball wise)

His height and agility combination are pretty impressive.

[FKAri]

How is durant's body bad? (basketball wise)

His height and agility combination are pretty impressive.

But what if he was Robert Wadlow length with Bruce Lee coordination/agility?

[SyRyanYang]

He's one of the most athletic player I've ever seen.
Strength isn't a necessity for premeter players. You don't think he could easily put on some weight with world's best trainers and nutritionists available?

[theaussieguy]

but when you realize what makes you good in the first place is YOUR body, they arn't in the nba because they have some spiritual Bball god inside them, its because they are genetic freaks (99% of the time). So as soon as you say "if he had ____'s body" then it instantly takes away the player they are in the first place

[The_Pharcyde]

but when you realize what makes you good in the first place is YOUR body, they arn't in the nba because they have some spiritual Bball god inside them, its because they are genetic freaks (99% of the time). So as soon as you say "if he had ____'s body" then it instantly takes away the player they are in the first place

exactly

[PejaTheSerbSnip]

exactly


Agreed, plus Jordan was the gutsiest player of his era and his competitive zeal was unmatched -- not to go too overboard with the platitudes :lol


But anyways, Durant is a mix of Gervin and Kobe. Unstoppable offensive force, and prospective top 10 all-time great if his body holds up, because his length will help with age well a la Dirk. I think he's pretty darn happy with the body he was given. I shudder to think how good Mike would have been with a 7'6 wingspan. He was already plenty strong. Imagine being the strongest AND longest 2 guard. He was already one of those.

[bizil]

I don't know about that. MJ was a great scorer, great passer, great rebounder (for a perimeter player), and a great defender in one. Durant at this point is a great scorer and great rebounder (for a SF). So he isn't as complete as MJ as of now. So to say EASILY better than MJ i can't agree with.

Durant's mark on the game is redefining the SF position. At 6'10 or 6'11 he's a pure shooter who also has great handles and can slash to the rack. He's a scoring juggernaut who's an epic matchup nightmare. There has never been an SF like this before. He's arguably the best shooter AND has the best handles ever for a player 6'10 and up. He's also a very good all around player as well. But MJ was A GREAT ALL AROUND player in addition to being the ultimate alpha dog.

[Budadiiii]

I don't know about that. MJ was a great scorer, great passer, great rebounder (for a perimeter player), and a great defender in one. Durant at this point is a great scorer and great rebounder (for a SF). So he isn't as complete as MJ as of now. So to say EASILY better than MJ i can't agree with.

Durant's mark on the game is redefining the SF position. At 6'10 or 6'11 he's a pure shooter who also has great handles and can slash to the rack. He's a scoring juggernaut who's an epic matchup nightmare. There has never been an SF like this before. He's arguably the best shooter AND has the best handles ever for a player 6'10 and up. He's also a very good all around player as well. But MJ was A GREAT ALL AROUND player in addition to being the ultimate alpha dog.
Durant is all of that. You must not watch Durant, and just because he has Kendrick Perkins, Steven Adams, and Nick Collision who can't finish, doesn't mean he's not a great passer. Assist numbers are very misleading.

Plus he's more efficient than MJ and way more deadly from outside. Just as competitive.

[deja vu]

If Dirk had Shaq's body he would be GOAT.

[3peated]

if jordan had pippens dong he would be goat

[Budadiiii]

If Dirk had Shaq's body he would be GOAT.
If Shaq had Shaq's body he would be the most dominant player in NBA history, probably would have the best peak ever

[Kvnzhangyay]

if jordan had pippens dong he would be goat

:yaohappy: :yaohappy:

[tontoz]

Agreed, plus Jordan was the gutsiest player of his era and his competitive zeal was unmatched -- not to go too overboard with the platitudes :lol


But anyways, Durant is a mix of Gervin and Kobe. Unstoppable offensive force, and prospective top 10 all-time great if his body holds up, because his length will help with age well a la Dirk. I think he's pretty darn happy with the body he was given. I shudder to think how good Mike would have been with a 7'6 wingspan. He was already plenty strong. Imagine being the strongest AND longest 2 guard. He was already one of those.


Wrong. Durant is an elite outside shooter. Kobe is a weak, although frequent, outside shooter. Gervin doesn't compare to him either.

[Marchesk]

If Nash had Wilt's body, he'd have 8 MVPs.

[Nash]

better body? dude is a 7 foot perimeter player who moves like a short guy and has monkey arms.
how much better could it get?

[Solefade]

thread is homo AF, arguing about black mens bodies and shit

[Marchesk]

better body? dude is a 7 foot perimeter player who moves like a short guy and has monkey arms.
how much better could it get?

Right, that he's so coordinated and quick for someone that gangly gives him a big advantage. However, 7 foot is a slight exaggeration.

[Marchesk]

thread is homo AF, arguing about black mens bodies and shit

If Bob Cousy had been Mark Eaton's height, he'd be the GOAT.

[PejaTheSerbSnip]

Wrong. Durant is an elite outside shooter. Kobe is a weak, although frequent, outside shooter. Gervin doesn't compare to him either.

A little nit-picky there my man....considering that wasn't even close to being the main point of my post. More like a sidebar thing.

anyways, since we're splitting hairs, I disagree. Kobe isn't a weak outside shooter, he just doesn't have the most refined shot selection. But that's not where I was making the comparison. They are both juggernauts on offense and have a great mid-range/long 2 game. If you look at Kobe's shooting pct% from 10-16 and 16-23 feet, he's definitely not 'weak.' And Gervin, well, Gervin was also a 3 who was longer than most of the small forwards of his era, and he was deadly efficient, just like KD. Although nobody has Ice's legendary finger roll.


But yeah, I wasn't saying Durant was a spitting image of the two. And even if I was it was like 20% of my post.

[RoundMoundOfReb]

6'11 with a 7'4 or whatever wingspan with guard-like coordination and quickness...Durant is a really underrated athlete.

[PejaTheSerbSnip]

thread is homo AF, arguing about black mens bodies and shit

No it isn't. You're just being a homophobic simpleton (sorry if that offends you). You don't have to yell "homo" at everything to prove you're straight.

[navy]

Right, that he's so coordinated and quick for someone that gangly gives him a big advantage. However, 7 foot is a slight exaggeration.
Might as well be with that wingspan.

[PejaTheSerbSnip]

6'11 with a 7'4 or whatever wingspan with guard-like coordination and quickness...Durant is a really underrated athlete.


Fellow Vancouverite!


Yeah, Durant is a great finisher and not exactly lacking hops or explosiveness.

[CavaliersFTW]

If Andre the Giant had Nate Robinsons quickness/skill/athleticism

[bizil]

Durant is all of that. You must not watch Durant, and just because he has Kendrick Perkins, Steven Adams, and Nick Collision who can't finish, doesn't mean he's not a great passer. Assist numbers are very misleading.

Plus he's more efficient than MJ and way more deadly from outside. Just as competitive.

Durant isn't a great passer or a defender. I think he qualifies as a very good passer and a good defender. I know who THE HELL KD IS!! Been watching him since Texas. KD isn't on the level of GREAT PASSING SF's like Lebron or Bird. If KD was such a great passer, it would be nearly THE TOP THING ANALYSTS TALK ABOUT! Bird and Bron's passing is ALWAYS discussed when talking about their games. Once again at this point, KD is a VERY GOOD PASSING SF. And even if he was a great passer, he's NOT A LOCKDOWN defender like MJ was ANYWAY!! Bron and MJ are simply more complete players than KD at this point. Especially in the two way sense.

[Marchesk]

If Andre the Giant had Nate Robinsons quickness/skill/athleticism

Would have destroyed Hulk Hogan in WrestleMania III.

[SamuraiSWISH]

He's basically a near 7 foot SG ... so he has that advantage. Good handle, made better by long arms and no carrying calls on his moves. He has an impossible to block jumper due to height, reach, and at his size range is no issue. But he suffers from feminine small shoulders that can't shed physical defense, and string bean arms. Clearly gets shook with physical play. Without the current no touch rules, he'd be a different player. His body is a blessing in today's league, a curse in others.

[CavaliersFTW]

He's basically a near 7 foot SG ... so he has that advantage. Good handle, made better by long arms and no carrying calls on his moves. He has an impossible to block jumper due to height, reach, and at his size range is no issue. But he suffers from feminine small shoulders that can't shed physical defense, and string bean arms. Clearly gets shook with physical play. Without the current no touch rules, he'd be a different player. His body is a blessing in today's league, a curse in others.
:oldlol:

http://www.remembertheaba.com/tributematerial/PlayerMaterial/ConnieHawkins/HawkinsDribbleAlone.jpg
http://cdn.blackenterprise.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2011/06/George-Gervin-620x480.jpg

Being tall and disproportionately long limbed is a curse in NO era of basketball. It is ALWAYS an advantage to be tall and long limbed in basketball, even if you are thin as a cost, the benefits of length generally outweigh lack of bulk. That's why the league is composed of far more tall skinny guys than short limbed stocky guys. The only stocky guys that seem make it actually also are tall and have long limbs.

[3ball]

.
The biggest difference between Durant and Jordan is the power difference, which is derived from the most common move in basketball, the drop-step move (shown below): Durant's drop step is sub-par and lacks explosion due to his long, skinny legs which hampers his center of gravity and diminishes the base from which he can explode.


http://gifsforum.com/images_new/gif/other/grand/c0c810934af56d2a5b2cf7a440aa1558.gif


While Durant's skinny frame hampers his explosion and power off a drop-step, overly bulky players will also not have elite drop-step ability... the perfect body type is slim, but not too slim.

The drop-step move shown above is used on all kinds of shots, both at-rim and on jumpshots.. and in the history of basketball, two men have separated themselves from all peers when it comes the drop-step move - no one in history had as much power and explosion off a drop step than Dr. J and Michael Jordan, and it's not remotely close.

The other day i was watching youtube highlights of a high school kid named josh jackson... i was thinking "man, this kid is for real and i wonder if HE'LL be the guy that is better than MJ.."

But everytime i think that about someone, it sort of clicks in my head, that it's impossible for any ballplayer to be better than Jordan if he can't do the drop-step as well as Jordan did... it's sad, but the move permeates THAT much of the game - and if someone is THAT good at it, the advantage can't be made up elsewhere assuming said player is at least decent in other areas... (interestingly, the josh jackson kid has a very good drop-step... his shot is where he'll have to keep working)

i've never seen anyone do the stuff Jordan did off a drop-step... when someone comes along that is THIS explosive off a drop-step, then my eyes and ears will really perk up: http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showpost.php?p=10422917&postcount=172
.

[Mrofir]

If Rosie O'Donnell had Michael Jordans body and the mind of Stephen Hawking, she would be an improved basketball player

[No_Look604]

If Lebron had a fourth quarter he would have a dollar.