Kevin Durant won’t find himself on anyone’s Mount Rushmore of NBA players, and according to Colin Cowherd, he only has himself to blame. Recently, Durant became the eighth player in NBA history to reach 30,000 career points, and at 36 years old, while averaging 27 points per game, he remains an effective player poised to continue adding to that tally. This is certainly a remarkable achievement for an all-time great.
Cowherd praised Durant for this milestone on his Fox Sports Radio and FS1 show, but he also expressed that Durant has derailed his own career path far too soon. He remarked, “Kevin Durant is more the artist who halfway through the tour, cancels the tour, sues Ticketmaster and gets into a fistfight with his drummer.”
“Kevin Durant is more the artist who halfway through the tour, cancels the tour, sues Ticketmaster and gets into a fistfight with his drummer.” – Colin Cowherd pic.twitter.com/nrLVfTeQUz
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 12, 2025
“It’s a milestone on an irrelevant team, in a loss. And that sort of sums up his career,” Cowherd further commented. He pointed out the tendency to blame coaches and general managers in the NBA, referencing criticism faced by the Dallas organization. Cowherd noted his surprise at the lack of consensus among NBA media, stating that “Kevin Durant tanked his own career; he really did.” He reflected on when Durant was with Golden State, suggesting that many considered him better than LeBron James at that time, praising Durant for his dominance and Finals MVPs.
Durant’s decision to join Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn left many puzzled. Cowherd claimed, “The hell?” He analyzed the contrast between LeBron and Durant, asserting that while LeBron operates as a business, Durant operates like an artist. Since his controversial departure from Oklahoma City to Golden State—where he won two NBA Finals MVPs—Durant has struggled to replicate that success. Despite his desire to prove he could lead his own championship team, his stints in Brooklyn and Phoenix have fallen short of expectations.
In hindsight, leaving Golden State appears to have been a mistake, with Cowherd stating that Durant “tanked his own career.” While he may have won more championships had he stayed, trying to create a legacy independent of the Warriors ultimately didn’t yield the results he sought. Nevertheless, Durant managed to bring an end to the NBA’s super team era, although that achievement likely won’t adorn his Hall of Fame plaque.
