Kevin Durant makes his pick in greatest scorer of all time debate

Kevin Durant wants no part of the NBA’s greatest scorer of all time debate.

As if the GOAT discussion isn’t obnoxious and unrelenting enough, the greatest scorer of all time debate usually takes things up a notch.

Without having to worry about the other aspects of the game like defense, rebounding or passing, debates centered around who the NBA‘s greatest scorer is can be a lot more open-ended.

Is it Michael Jordan, who led the league in scoring a whopping 10 times and still holds the league’s all-time highest scoring average at 30.1 points per game? Is it LeBron James, whose indomitable blend of size, speed, strength and longevity may ultimately place him atop the all-time scoring list one day? What about Stephen Curry, who revolutionized the pace-and-space era with his 3-point shot, Kevin Durant with his smooth stroke and handle that allow him to score from anywhere with grace, or the OG Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who is the league’s all-time leading scorer?

According to Kevin Durant, the answer is Michael Jordan, and Michael Jordan only

On Twitter on Thursday, user Dante Keys quote-tweeted an argument between Kendrick Perkins and Max Kellerman from ESPN’s First Take debating the topic. Perkins advocated for his old Oklahoma City Thunder teammate by saying KD was the greatest scorer ever, while Kellerman chose MJ, saying, “Michael Jordan not only scored more than KD, won more than KD, but scored more efficiently than KD.”

That’s when Durant, who was tagged in Keys’ tweet, responded:

“Mj is one of one, God level, unmatched, [unparalleled], a pure master at this s**t,” he wrote. “I’m still watching his games to learn. Leave me out of it please.”

It’s not surprising to hear Durant take this tone. While he has great respect for his own game and for LeBron James, it’s a fool’s errand to declare yourself as the greatest scorer ever in response to a tweet from some random Twitter user. Durant has always admired the GOAT, and according to him, it sounds like no one will ever touch MJ’s scoring prowess in his mind.