Kevin Durant’s reputation as a shooter gets most of the attention, but his role as a defender could prove just as beneficial for the Warriors this season.
In the buildup to the Sept. 27 start of training camp, The Chronicle is analyzing the Warriors player-by-player. This installment focuses on Kevin Durant, Golden State’s headlinegrabbing offseason addition.
Last season, the team’s four top scorers — Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes — accounted for 65 percent of Golden State’s shots. Durant averaged 10 more shots in Oklahoma City than Barnes, the player he will supplant in the Warriors’ starting lineup.
To accommodate Durant, his fellow All-Stars will need to bypass certain looks they relished a season ago. That is a minor price, of course, for the added dimension Durant provides.
When the three-point attempts weren’t falling last season, Golden State’s potent offense tended to sputter. With no reliable post-up threat, the Warriors clanged jump shot after jump shot as they squandered a 3-1 lead to Cleveland in the Finals.
Durant, a four-time NBA scoring champion, offers Golden State versatility. He’s not only one of the world’s best spot-up shooters, he’s an efficient post-up player. Per NBA.com, Durant scored 1.23 points per post-up last season on 60.9 percent shooting. His diverse offensive repertoire will make it easier for Curry, Thompson and Green to do what they do best.
Known primarily as a scorer, Durant is an underrated defender. Last season, he held opponents to 33 percent shooting on shots he contested, which led the nearly 300 players who contested at least 250 shots.
Switching on screens — one of the Warriors’ defensive staples — should be even better with Durant in the fold. With deceptive speed and a 7-foot-5 wingspan, he is one of the league’s best defenders after switches.
Signing Durant sent shockwaves through the NBA, yes, but there will still be only one basketball to go around. The Warriors, who became the third team ever to add an NBA MVP to a group that finished with the league’s best record (Shaquille O’Neal to the Cavs in 2009-10; Bill Walton to the Celtics in 1985-86), should be better at both ends of the floor.