National Basketball Association

Will Kevin Durant's legacy be affected by fourth team?

Updated Jul. 2, 2022 2:58 p.m. ET

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Sometimes, even the game's greatest play for multiple organizations.

Shaquille O'Neal suited up for six franchises — three over the last three years of his career — and LeBron James has so far played for three. Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar both played in two cities. 

And as of this week, it appears Kevin Durant is headed for franchise No. 4 — but if he doesn't win a title in his new city, Emmanuel Acho isn't so sure it's the best move for his legacy.

"LeBron James goes to Miami, but he won a championship," Acho said. "Goes to L.A., but he won a championship. So when you look at LeBron James, it's all good in the neighborhood."

On Friday's edition of "Speak For Yourself," Acho brought out his calculator and shared his equation for determining a player's legacy.

"My equation for legacies: how many championships divided by how many teams did you play for. The higher the number, the greater the legacy. You think about Kobe Bryant: five championships divided by one team. That's five. 

" … Then you get to Kevin Durant — we're starting to talk about a whole bunch of teams."

Durant began his career in Seattle, a franchise that quickly made its way to Oklahoma City after his first season. He spent nine seasons in Seattle/OKC, making one NBA Finals appearance before bolting to Golden State, where he made three Finals appearances, winning two rings and two Finals MVPs.

He recently completed his third season in Brooklyn (only playing in two) and has one Eastern Conference semifinals exit and one first round exit to his name. 

"Kevin Durant is continuing to dilute his legacy by playing for more and more teams, unless he can win a championship," Acho said. "If he can go win another championship, by all means, you can keep that ratio of your legacy high." 

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