Hmm. It's very close. Shooting wise it's not even close obviously. Both could finish well around the rim, I would say Durant probably has the slightest of advantages. But T-Mac was a much much better playmaker so he has the advantage there. Durant is a better rebounder and defense is a wash. Both can be great when they need to be on defense. Durant has shown that he is amazing in the clutch. I think I would take T-Mac slightly over Durant.
Kevin Durant and it's not even close. Better all around player, he was top 3 in defending isolation this year, better rebounder. Better and much more efficient scorer. He is 10/23 this season including playoffs on game-tying or go-ahead field goals in last 24 seconds. He averaged most 4th quater points and scored most points in clutch(last 5 minutes when game is within 5 points).
T-Mac was better than Durant in all facets except for shooting. That said, Durant is better because the ultimate objective is to get the ball in the basket, and shooting nearly 50/39/86 is way more efficient than TMac ever was. I'd take either on my team though.
I like to believe I'm fair with guys and will give credit where due. I was all over McGrady as he left the Rockets, but in his first 2-3 years in Orlando, what I regard as his prime, he was at least toe to toe with today's Durant. 28 ppg on 45.5% shooting, 38% from three, 8 fta, 7 boards, 5 dimes, 1.1 blocks, 1.6 steals, 45 rating. All of which compares nicely against Durant today. Durant's got an edge on the boards, McGrady in playmaking. We think of McGrady as a zero on defense because of his time here and since, but he kicked off the Orlando era as the single best two way player in the game. He was a terror on defense until the burden of carrying the team on both ends got to him and he started coasting on D to save energy for scoring. I thought it was laughable when Doc first said it...but McGrady (at one point) honestly was Scottie Pippen with a better offensive game. I've got to give McGrady a slight nod vs today's Durant. For a couple of years, he was a top 5 talent on both ends of the court and not only scoring the ball but doubling as a point forward. For a very brief window, he was honestly a better player than Kobe Bryant - who did not do as well in his one "solo" year than McGrady did in Orlando.
It's a very good poll and a very good question, however it's doubtful you will get honest responses here due to the fact that this appears to be a homer Thunder board.
Better all around player? Okay you never watched prime T-Mac or you overvalue Durant to the fullest. Whoever thinks Durant is a better all around player doesn't know basketball.
It is actually even... and it should be even.... Tmac could be even better than he was with Kobe's drive... but he never had that. I will go with Durant because he is the better teammate
Durant is a better shooter. Tmac had better handles, court vision, and athleticism. I think Durant is probably better, but Durant has a great team around him. WB is superstar level. Harden is all star level. Serge is a very good player. Perkins is at least average. Their bench is pretty good as well.
While McGrady was a good defender when he wanted to be, I don't recall him ever being a terror defensively. Maybe it was such a long time ago that I just can't remember him guarding the other team's best perimeter player for long stretches during the regular season.
There was a point where it was Kobe vs Tracy. Tracy with the right mentality and drive would have become one of the greatest of all time-- top 5 possibly. Unfortunately, he lacked the discipline and the hunger. Sadly he tried to coast to greatness and failed miserably.
Durant, but not by much. Durant still hasn't hit his ceiling. He could become a better ball handler, passer, and work on his TOs
The thing about both... you could actually play Tmac at the 2, and Durant at the 3.... they would be a deadly combo and probably better than Kobe the lone Mamba and Durant
Good analysis. People now, would say Durant, because his team has gotten further into playoffs and he has more inviting personality. It's a push at worst, but a best only one would be slightly better. To be fair to McGrady, he's never played with a super team, before or a team with overwhelming talent. The Rockets did not do a good job of surrounding him and Yao with greatest talent in the world, until it was too late.
He wasn't a lockdown one on one stopper, he was a scary off ball help defender with weakside blocks and poaching the passing lanes. In Toronto, that was his entire role since Carter dominated on offense. He was a guy you had to be aware of the entire time because he was so effective as a help man. When he played us in '98 with the Raptors, he rang up 7 blocks on us in a winning effort. It was sad (but understandable) to see how quickly he quit putting in effort on D once he became a the primary option in Orlando.
