'I played with Michael Jordan then became NBA coach - current star is more gifted'
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr believes Kevin Durant is a 'more gifted' player than Michael Jordan, despite having played with the NBA legend on the Chicago Bulls
While many consider Michael Jordan to be the greatest player of all time, Steve Kerr believes another player is "more gifted" than the NBA legend.
Although Jordan - during his Chicago Bulls days - was widely known as the greatest of all time (GOAT), Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has continually broken records and has firmly cemented himself as a close contender for Jordan's crown. And while the two men firmly have the upper hand in the GOAT conversation, Kerr states that there is another who is more gifted than the two.
During an interview with NBC in 2021, the Golden State Warriors head coach stated that Kevin Durant, a player he once coached, stands above Jordan and James but figuratively and literally.
"He [Durant] just showed he's the most talented basketball player on Earth, if not of all time," Kerr said at the time. "I think he's more gifted [than Jordan], I really do. That's saying something, but Kevin is a different, entirely different breed. I mean, 6-foot-11 with guard skills, unlimited 3-point range, passing, shot-blocking... it's just stunning."
Almost four years after Kerr's admission, Durant continues to be a game-changing presence for the Phoenix Suns, despite how the team's record might look. This season, the 36-year-old is averaging 26.9 points on 52.7 percent shooting from the field, 40.9 percent from 3-point land, 6.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.3 blocks in 37.1 minutes per game.
Looking at how the star forward has performed since 2021, the numbers are eerily similar. From the 2021-22 season to the present, Durant is averaging 28.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks in 36.9 minutes, showing just how incredibly consistent the 6-foot-11 star has been in the later stages of his career.
Kerr is not the only one who believes another player is greater than Jordan in certain aspects of the game. NBA legend Julius 'Dr. J' Erving claimed that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the GOAT above Jordan and James because he's played against the Lakers legend and knows what he can do.
"Kareem was always the guy standing in my way," Erving said during an appearance on the 'Mark Jackson Show.' "I was always in his shadow because of the years in which we played... Personally, that was the guy who I look at as probably the GOAT.”
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Regardless, the GOAT conversation will continue perpetually, with Jordan, James, Durant and Abdul-Jabbar being named as some of the greatest players of all time. And even though Durant was not given an opportunity to reunite with Kerr and the Warriors, the head coach understood why.
"I don't blame Kevin one bit for not wanting to rerun things here," Kerr said, per ESPN. "He took so much ------- for like, 'Oh, you're jumping on the bandwagon.' And then he's Finals MVP two years in a row. It's like he still gets criticized. ... So why would he want to face all that B.S. again?"