Kevin Durant set to embark on the most important playoff run of his career
To say that a two-time NBA champion, two-time Finals MVP and league MVP could possibly be gearing up for the most important playoff run of his career might sound odd.
But that is the situation in which Kevin Durant could find himself as he and the Brooklyn Nets prepare to face the Boston Celtics in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, with KD chasing his third ring and third NBA Finals MVP.
Durant will be making his first playoff appearance in two years after suffering a torn Achilles in Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors as a member of the Golden State Warriors.
That was the third consecutive trip to the Finals for Durant with the Warriors after winning the championship in 2017 and '18.
While his résumé stacks up with the greatest to play the game, he will now try to prove that he is capable of winning a championship as the lead guy outside of the Bay Area ecosystem created by Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, a trio that won the 2015 title before Durant's arrival.
Durant has a new cast of superstar teammates in Brooklyn in the form of Kyrie Irving and James Harden, who help Durant form the most heralded trio of players in the current NBA.
Having compiled the second-best record in the Eastern Conference (48-24) despite a rash of injuries, the Nets are currently seen by many pundits and a majority of sportsbooks as the favorites to hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy at the end of the season.
According to NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, this is a championship-or-bust season for the Nets, even if he isn't picking them to win the title.
He explained as much Thursday morning on ESPN's "Get Up."
"The Brooklyn Nets are the team under the most pressure. They have to win the championship or bust," Barkley said. "When you've got those three guys, it's championship-or-bust. Plain and simple."
But Durant understands that talent alone isn't enough for the Nets to win the championship, and if they aren't focused, they could be dispatched before reaching the Finals.
"We respect the game and our opponents too much to come in and say we are expected to win this," he said. "We are coming out there and understand that we can be beat if we don't lock in."
If there is anybody who knows that an abundance of talent on one roster doesn't guarantee a championship, it's Durant.
In the 2011-12 season, Durant was paired with Russell Westbrook and Harden as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder. They reached the NBA Finals before falling to the Miami Heat in five games.
The Thunder then traded Harden to the Houston Rockets in the summer of 2012, never reaching the NBA Finals again. They lost in the Western Conference finals in 2014 and again in 2016, when Durant was part of the infamous 3-1 collapse to the Warriors.
After losing that series to the Warriors, Durant joined Golden State in the summer of 2016 as a free agent, a move that netted him two titles and also a bevy of criticism.
Stephen A. Smith lamented on an episode of ESPN's "First Take" that the move was the "weakest" he had ever seen from a star player.
The aforementioned 2019 Warriors were expected to three-peat before injuries to Durant and Thompson derailed their quest.
But even with the leveled and rational thinking from Durant, he isn't being let off the hook. While discussing the Nets on "Speak For Yourself," Emmanuel Acho pointed out that the perception of Durant could change if the stacked Nets roster doesn't perform.
"How can you put Kevin Durant, the best player in the NBA, plus James Harden, the best scorer of this generation, plus Kyrie Irving, maybe the most skilled player to ever touch a basketball, on the same team and it not be considered a disappointment [if they don't win?]" Acho said. "It is an indictment on Kevin Durant."
The pressure is officially on in Brooklyn, and Durant is squarely in the middle of it.
Win in Brooklyn, and he proves he can lead his own group of guys to the promised land. Lose, and questions will remain about his ability to triumph outside of the Bay Area.
How he fares this postseason in a tough Eastern Conference could ultimately shape his legacy.
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