Rockets' Kevin Durant Defends Himself Against Bogus Social Media Claim

Kevin Durant has never been afraid to speak his mind. Especially on social media.

Granted, he doesn't back down from reporters either, but the Houston Rockets forward especially enjoys engaging in banter with fans on social media. Granted, this is the social media era, where players are asked to engage with fans on social media and maintain a presence on social media, so Durant is essentially doing what's asked of today's players.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James is also one of the more active superstars. Again, it comes with the era.

Durant, however, seizes opportunities to clap back at naysayers and put detractors in their place. The latest episode came on Saturday, when a social media account noted that Durant hasn't led his team in field goal attempts since 2018.

This, obviously, refers to the 2017-18 Golden State Warriors team, comprised of Durant, Draymond Green, Stephen Curry, and Klay Thompson. On that team, Durant averaged 18 field goals per contest.

Another social media user responded, downplaying Durant’s reputation as one of the game's greatest scorers, seemingly stating that Durant’s reputation is all tied to efficiency and the advanced analytics view of the game, which has come into fruition over the last decade.

Durant ranks 11th all-time in true shooting and eighth among active players.

Durant responded.

"30k points on low fga. Ima coaches dream. Dime dropper, I mastered scoring at 24 years old man. Give it a rest, I don’t care about being the best scorer ever. You are diminishing my all time greatness callin me that"

Durant has drawn scrutiny for defending his play on social media, with many viewing him as sensitive and insecure.

This conversation, however, is a bit misguided. Durant has led the entire league in field goal attempts on multiple occasions and has ranked in the top six in shots per game in each of the last two seasons.

In fact, just last season, Durant ranked fifth in the entire Association is shots per game.

Furthermore, he's led his team in total field goals numerous times since the 2017-18 season that was referenced in the original tweet. For example, Durant led the Brooklyn Nets in total shots in 2021-22 and also led the Phoenix Suns in total shots in 2023-24.

There's another angle to this: the postseason, which tells a far different tale.

Durant led the Oklahoma City Thunder in shots per game in the 2016 postseason, led the Golden State Warriors in shots per game in the 2018 and 2019 postseasons, led the Brooklyn Nets in shots per game in the 2021 and 2022 postseasons, and led the Phoenix Suns in shots per game in the 2024 postseason, which is the last time they qualified for the playoffs.

Durant also led the Oklahoma City Thunder in shots per game in five of their six title runs, from 2009 to 2016, but that time frame falls outside of the reference years.

This time, Durant was in the right.