Kevin Durant is undoubtedly an era-defining talent. At a height of 6’10, the 2nd overall pick became a blueprint for sharpshooting bigs, being the first of his kind. The Slim Reaper’s career saw many changes over the years. After winning the MVP in 2013-14 he failed to secure a ring at OKC. Surprisingly, he decided to go to the Warriors who dramatically defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder just the year prior.

His arrival gave 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 to the Dubs Dynasty that would dominate the NBA for the next two seasons. Interestingly, before two rings and back-to-back Finals MVPs, a young KD bagged a rare NBA honor surpassing Shaq and MJ himself.

Kevin Durant dethroned Jordan and Shaq to snag rare NBA honor

KD’s resume includes every award an NBA player can hope to achieve. At the pinnacle of those achievements are his 2 championships with the Golden State Warriors , followed by two finals MVPs. The Slim Reaper also has 13 all-star appearances and  6-all-NBA first-team selections, not to mention he was also Rookie of the Year.

Despite this, one of his achievements toppled even MJ and Shaq in their prime. In only his third season in the league, Durant led the NBA in scoring at the age of only 21. Averaging 30.1 points a game, he was the scoring champion that year and was also runner-up in the MVP race. As a result, he became the youngest scoring champion the league had ever seen.

Michael Jordan became a scoring champion at the age of 22 in 1985. Shaquille O’Neal snagged the title in 1995 when he was 23. Astoundingly, the Slim Reaper won the scoring title the following year as well.

However, in a recent ranking ahead of the regular season, KD was behind his former teammate Stephen Curry.

Curry Ahead of KD in the new ESPN list

Although the list itself has riled up fans and pundits alike, it’s still worth a look. The first three positions are fairly obvious, with Giannis Antetokounmpo ranked at number one trailing at number two is Jokic, followed by the reigning MVP Joel Embiid. Steph is placed at number 5 behind Luka Dončić. Durant comes in at number 7 and just ahead of him is Jayson Tatum.

The list puts KD ahead of LeBron and AD, who are ranked at 9 and 10 respectively. While the list prompted mixed responses, the inclusion of Durant is very unsurprising. Despite failing in the playoffs last season, the slim reaper has a lot more left in the tank.