Reaction: Stephen A. Smith says Kevin Durant Is NY basketball GOAT

Is Kevin Durant the NY basketball GOAT?

In a sense, Durant to New York Basketball GOATs is the LeBron James of NBA basketball GOATs or the Aaron Rodgers of NFL Quarterback GOATs.

A comparison that I like to make to simplify my opinion on the basketball GOAT conversation is this: While LeBron is definitely the most well-rounded player in NBA history, his lack of accomplishments among other things leads me to believe Michael Jordan is the GOAT. LeBron is the best player to ever play the sport, but Jordan is elevated over LeBron for me because he has more to offer than just his skill. Now consider Brady and Rodgers for further perspective. Tom Brady to me and many others is the GOAT of the NFL, and as a result the Quarterback position. I think Aaron Rodgers is the greatest QB I’ve ever seen from a skill and talent standpoint, but he lacks the rings to compete with Brady in a GOAT conversation.

See the parallels? Frazier and Reed won NBA championships. Ewing and Anthony put up franchise-leading numbers and won many awards over the course of several years in a New York uniform. These players and others have been in NY for longer and seen far more success than Durant so far. Even Kyrie Irving has two seasons in Brooklyn under his belt, helped Brooklyn get to the playoffs, and was just selected to the All-NBA Third Team. For me, that makes him a better all-time NY basketball player than Durant.

Smith wasn’t entirely wrong in his comments. Kevin Durant is undeniably an all-time great. By default, he is one of the best to ever step on an NBA court in New York. But, Smith’s opinion met some unreasonable backlash that was likely misplaced and misunderstood. I think people should at the least agree with his comments to an extent because there are many factors that come into play when discussing the logistics of any GOAT conversation, and especially a conversation that has the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets butting heads.