Giannis Antetokounmpo: Ranking the FMVP among NBA’s best players
By Dalton Sell
Ranking Giannis Antetokounmpo among NBA’s best players: No. 2 – Kevin Durant
Some will have the next two flipped, but the general consensus at the moment is that they are the top two players in the NBA in some order. Occupying the second spot is Kevin Durant, the forward who is coming off one of the greatest bounce-back seasons of all time. After missing the 2019-20 season entirely due to an Achilles injury, many questioned whether Durant could return to form as the best scorer of this generation. He silenced those concerns rather quickly.
Durant had a solid regular season as he helped the Brooklyn Nets claim the second seed in the Eastern Conference, but it was the playoffs where he truly turned heads. Of course, the Bucks saw this firsthand as they squared off against Durant and the Nets in round two. Across seven games, the forward averaged 35.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.1 blocked shots, taking the series over for his team. He consistently hit clutch shots down the stretch, nearly sending the Bucks home in Game 7 after hitting one of the greatest playoff shots in recent memory. He had a toe on the line, thankfully, which sent the game to overtime, where the Bucks prevailed 115-111.
Despite the loss, Durant had a terrific season and reclaimed his status as one of the best players in the league today. If that is how Durant played just one season removed from his devastating Achilles injury, he should be even better next season. Who knows, perhaps the Bucks and Nets will meet again and have another classic playoff series full of fireworks.