In a non-contact sport, there isn't a need to get bigger & stronger. But you're talking basketball here. You need strength to muscle your opponent out of your way to get a shot or rebound and drive toward the basket with at least 1 opponent hanging on to you. You also need arm & wrist strength to shoot the 3 ball accurately.
the guy is what? 20 years old? He will get bigger and stronger as he trains and lifts more. Just give him time. He wont build himself a Lebron type Body but in 3-4 years he is not gonna be pushed around like he is now. Remember, players dont hit their prime until they are 27-28. Thats 7-8 more years for KD to grow!
KD is awesome now and could be an All Time great even if he never benched over 185lb. However, adding some muscle and functional strength to all of KD's athleticism and skills will only make him even better.
You realise he played SF most of last season? (61 times out of 74) And as a SF he picked up 7.0 rpg. Can't box out?
As Durant plays SF, he generally has the height advantage against anyone he plays against. He really does remind me of T-Mac in Orlando though. Extremely similar games.
Jonathan Bender disagrees. Well, at least in terms of physical build and athleticism, skill set is another story.
To be honest I think Mcgrady is still more talented. Overall KD probably will have an inch advantage over Grady (Tmac is now 6'9, I expect KD to be 7'0 by the time he's full grown), but he doesn't have T-mac court-vision, and I don't think he ever will. However what Durant has over T-mac are 1) a better shot 2) desire to be the best player in the league and most importantly 3) leadership qualities. KD is just way to mature for his age-he went to SL just to cheer his teammates on even if he wasn't required. At 20 years old man, who does that? The Thunder will be a fool if they let KD go. Of course they're never gonna do that, Presti is one of the best GMs in the league. IMHO he's gonna challenge LBJ for the best player in the history of the league so far when all's said and done.
In basketball, skills and quickness are more important than strength, especially on the perimeter. DD
There are few players in the history of the NBA as talented as McGrady was, but he didn't have the heart to maximize his ability.
Lets calm down with the praises. He hasn't even achieved as much as McGrady did when he won the scoring title as a Magic and you guys are ready to call him the greatest of all time? Lets see how he plays in the late 20 first.
For his weak spindly perimeter shooting body, Durant still finished around the top 10 in total dunks. 3 spots behind Lebron and D Wade http://www.cbssports.com/nba/dunk-o-meter/yearly He adds strength and all around passing* (*Kelly Dwyer scoffs at notion of facilitating to other OKC scrubs ), then he's gonna be a real dandy of a player. Accomplishments are important, but how about this: Only 1 of these players has been in an All Star game: Kevin Durant, Deron Williams, Mo Williams...Lets see you decline a deal of either Deron Williams/Kevin Durant straight up for Mo Williams cuz Mo Williams "accomplished" more. Its just fun to speculate. Lebron was King James before he was a high school senior but you could project what he'd become. Even McGrady wasnt T-Mac at 20 years old or anything close to Durant at the same comparitive age.
shooting has nothing to do with strength. Lebron is big because he is big, and can budge through people when driving and post up
Strength is not related to size of muscle but to quality of muscle fibers. It is only an american macho thing to be big muscled! Y
Some people are naturally skinny no matter how strong they are or how much they work out. Earl Boykins could bench like 300 lb but he was extremely small. KG, the one that always comes to mind, I'm sure has increased his strength like mad since entering the NBA out of hs but is still stick thin. KD will be able to bulk up, but not very much no matter how hard he tries. But that by no means translates into weakness.
I sense a lot of Texan love for Kevin Durant. There's no doubt he's good and he's a very smooth player considering he doesn't have crazy athletecism or blazing speed but until he helps make his teammates better or leads his team to the playoffs or even a winning season for that matter he's just another statistical superstar. He could go down as an all time-great if learns how to win and becomes a leader or he could be a Glenn Robinson/Jamal Mashburn type as well. His 3rd year will be very telling.
