Former NBA scoring champion Tracy McGrady highlights Kevin Durant’s unmatched ability to excel in one-on-one matchups.
During his NBA career, Tracy McGrady was an extremely potent scorer who could get buckets from any part of the court. He was exceptional in the 2000s as he won two NBA scoring titles in 2003 and 2004 when he averaged 32.1 and 28 points per game respectively.
With his knowledge and experience, McGrady knows how to evaluate the best scorers in the league. T-Mac was labeled a fantastic iso-scorer, which meant he starred in 1-on-1 isolation plays. In the current NBA world, T-Mac regards Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant as the best 1-on-1 scorer.
“I don’t think nobody is better than KD. His shooting ability, 7-foot. KD reminds me of myself being able to get to your spots in three, four dribbles” TMac said to OBL Hoops. “KD needs about three to four dribbles, and he is in his spot. He gets where he wants to go in less dribbles and he is efficient”
Kevin Durant is a deadly scorer
T-Mac brings up a great point with KD’s playstyle because he thrives any time he has the ball. Carmelo Anthony also brought this up with the term “pure hooper” to explain the players who shine in iso situations. With his immense height, standing at at 6’10”, and his long arms, Durant can shoot effectively over anybody. Most defenders would stick to him like glue to try and bother him but his high release point makes it impossible to block.
Aside from his jump shot, Durant also has a deep bag of dribble moves to get past defenders. He is now the prototype for taller players on how to handle the ball properly because he can get separation from his defender with a hesitation move or a crossover. Durant loves a one-dribble pull-up which has worked countless times during his career whether it’s in the mid-range or beyond the arc.
Additionally, KD is also a solid slasher as he uses those long limbs to make massive strides en route to the hoop. He can use a soft touch on layups or floaters, and also has elite athleticism. That has long been overlooked as part of KD’s game because he can rise to the rafters and dunk on rim protectors. This makes him such an unguardable player.
There are parallels between T-Mac and Durant
Both T-Mac and Durant had tremendous size for their positions. Most people would expect a shooting guard to be around 6’5” or 6’6” but McGrady stood around 6’8”. Despite his overwhelming size, T-Mac was not slow at all. He could also dribble with high effectiveness against almost every opposition player.
McGrady could get his shot up anywhere by using a powerful jump which makes the shot hard to block. That is reminiscent of what KD does as he also uses his size to get past his defenders. It’s not a surprise that both players are multi-time scoring champions because they knew their advantages with their physical traits but they worked hard in the gym to create the best moves for them to score.
Aside from Durant, T-Mac has also shown appreciation for other current NBA players who thrive in the isolation game. He cites Bradley Beal, Kyrie Irving, Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, and De’Aaron Fox as fantastic examples of the 1-on-1 style.
As the game evolves with set plays and off-ball movement, people have to realize that the 1-on-1 is still the bread and butter of basketball. With no help defense, it’s just two players on an island and the offensive player needs to have a deep bag to win the matchup. Even 17 years into his career, Durant remains one of the most potent scorers in the league, do not expect that to change with his talent and playstyle.
