‘Mischaracterized’ Kevin Durant Needs to Follow Kawhi Leonard and Stephen Curry’s Route to End the Leadership Debate, per ESPN Analyst

Kevin Durant is indubitably one of the best scorers the NBA has ever seen, and he has four scoring titles to his name that attest to this. He is one of the few players who helped define this era of basketball and has it all to be tagged as one of the best players of our time. However, there have always been doubts and questions about his leadership. KD has never fallen short in terms of leading teammates on the floor, putting in the work during practice, or giving it his all during the off-season.

The questions surrounding his leadership arose from his lack of charisma and this is something he has openly admitted to in a recent interview. Despite this, ESPN’s Tim Legler contests that KD has been misunderstood his whole career. He adds that the 2X NBA Champion has all the capabilities of being a good leader except for a key aspect he needs to learn from Stephen Curry and Kawhi Leonard.

Kevin Durant needs to lead his team to a championship

Tim argues that widely ‘mischaracterized’ KD’s leadership isn’t too different from that of Steph and Kawhi. He asks, “When you look at his leadership style, is it all that different from Steph Curry? Is it all that different from a Kawhi Leonard?” However, what sets the two stars apart from KD is that they were able to take a team and lead them to a championship, something KD has been unable to achieve. His type of leadership did not amount to significant success.

Despite this, Tim adds, “If he had won a championship in Oklahoma City nobody would question his leadership.” He believes that KD has the chance to redeem himself as a good leader if he can make some major impact with the Suns this season. Moreover, former NBA star JJ Redick also chimes in in support of KD and says, “This is a guy that lives, breathes, eats, sleeps basketball. That’s a form of leadership.” This conversation stems from KD’s statement about his leadership during a one-on-one with longtime friend Rich Kleiman.

KD admits he lacks a TV personality

While addressing the scrutiny revolving around his leadership, the Suns’ forward had said, “I’m not as charismatic as my peers. I don’t have a personality that’s fit for TV like my peers.” He admits that he doesn’t have a large media presence, which in turn paints him as an absent leader. “You’ve got to sell what you’re doing as well, and I haven’t sold it enough.”

However, he asserts that he doesn’t feel the need to go out of his way and do it at the same time. His only concern is, “I don’t feel like I want people to call me a leader, but I also don’t want people to say I’m not one either.” He explains that critics fail to see the way he conducts himself with his teammates and staff behind the scenes which is majorly why they push the narrative of his unsuccessful leadership.

Read More- Kawhi Leonard’s Problem Isn’t the Same as James Harden’s as the Latter Once Got Blunt About His Body

Do you think KD is unfairly tagged as a bad leader? Has he been a detrimental leader so far? Let us know in the comments below!