Kevin Durant Responds To ESPN Ranking Him 8th Best Player

Kevin Durant Responds To ESPN Ranking Him NBA’s 8th Best Player

May 3, 2014; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) reacts after making a three point shot against the Memphis Grizzlies during the second quarter in game seven of the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /

Kevin Durant fired back at ESPN for ranking him as the NBA’s eighth best player.

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant doesn’t appear to be too happy with ESPN at the moment.

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ESPN.com recently ranked Durant as the NBA’s eighth best player and Royce Webb wrote the following as an explanation:

"Instead of being No. 2 again in #NBArank, Durant is now No. 8.Unfair? Sure.Real life? Too real.When it comes to title chances, MVP races and #NBArank, injuries hurt. That’s what KD and his fans are finding out for the first time in his career after his Oct. 16 surgery for a Jones fracture in his right foot. Instead of shooting jumpers, he’s shooting selfies."

Naturally, Durant took offense to this, particularly the insinuation that he hasn’t been working on his game, and tweeted about it. Durant would shortly thereafter delete his tweet on the matter, but not before the basketball world took notice.

Here’a screenshot of Durant’s tweet (H/T Bleacher Report):

B/R /

It’s hard to blame Durant for being upset with ESPN. Injured or not, it’s understandable that he wouldn’t appreciate the ranking and explanation for it.

It’s worth noting that ESPN doesn’t actually believe Durant at full health is the NBA’s eighth best player.

If healthy, Kevin Durant would have been #NBArank No. 2, with a near-perfect rating of 9.94. http://t.co/CKsDq5kMpl
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) October 24, 2014

Durant averaged 32.0 points, 7.4 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game this past season en route to his first MVP award.

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