Earlier in the week, Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade named three players who he believes should each receive an NBA statue next after his own statue was unveiled in front of Kaseya Center.
Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant was among the players he mentioned along with LeBron James and Stephen Curry.
However, Durant doesn’t see himself getting a statue of his own.
“I highly, highly doubt I’ll get a statue of me put anywhere for playin’ basketball,” Durant said. “I appreciate the love, though, and the respect that people show me. That’s enough for me.”
He continued, explaining that he and Wade are two different cases when it comes to the statue discussion.
“I just don’t really think — no, see, Dwyane Wade’s a different case, man,” he said. “He’s — he is Miami. He is the Heat, you know? So, it’s a different case with him. It’s very few players that get that type of love in a city like that, and it’s usually those guys who got the Hall of Fame career with championships, and you’ve been with one city for a long time. That’s not the case for me, but I can see it for a couple other guys in the league.”
Durant was then told that Wade thinks the 2014 MVP is next in line to receive a statue, perhaps a slight deviation from what Wade actually said (since the Heat legend was seemingly speaking about deservingness instead of making an actual prediction). Durant responded to the idea that he’s next.
“I disagree with D-Wade, but I appreciate him puttin’ me in that category with two other guys who probably will statues in cities that they played in,” Durant said.
Wade’s statue has received plenty of criticism since it was revealed to the public due to its appearance. Tim Walz — the Democratic candidate for vice president of the United States — described it as “pretty horrific,” and plenty of folks have claimed that the bronze statue doesn’t even resemble the three-time NBA champion.
Durant’s resume indicates that he is worthy of consideration for a statue in the future. With four scoring titles and more than 29,000 career points to his name, he’s one of the best scorers in the history of the league. On top of that, he’s a two-time NBA champion, with both of his titles coming during his time as a member of the Golden State Warriors.
If any team were to give Durant his very own statue, perhaps it would be the franchise he spent the most time with out of any NBA team, the Oklahoma City Thunder. In nine seasons with the Thunder (including one when they were the Seattle SuperSonics), Durant earned seven All-Star nods and one league MVP award. In addition, he led Oklahoma City to the 2012 NBA Finals.
But the way in which Durant’s stint with the Thunder came to an end might prevent the organization from giving him a statue for all of his accomplishments with the team.
Durant left the Thunder in the summer of 2016 and signed with a Warriors team that was fresh off a 73-win season. It’s also important to note that Durant and the Thunder held a 3-1 lead over the Warriors in the 2016 Western Conference Finals but lost the series in seven games.
The Warriors could consider giving Durant a statue, as he helped them win multiple championships, but he only spent a few years with the organization.
Regardless of whether or not Durant is rewarded with a statue from one of the NBA teams he’s played for, he is universally recognized as an all-time great player.