Kevin Durant has had a rollercoaster ride in the NBA. He joined the league from the University of Texas in 2007. That year, the Seattle Supersonics drafted the American as the second overall pick in the NBA Draft. The 33-year-old has two rings to his name, both with the Golden State Warriors. He helped create a dynasty as GSW won consecutively in 2017 and 2018.
Recently, Durant joined ETC’s podcast. He spoke about many things, the NBA Draft, Kyrie Irving, the Warriors’ title win, and much more. While speaking about Jayson Tatum’s impact on the 2022 NBA Finals, Andrew Wiggins‘ name came up.
Moreover, Eddie Gonzalez mentioned how Wiggins made it tough for Jayson Tatum. KD analyzed how the Warriors star locked JT up. He said, “He can be good on any player, especially a tall guy, somebody taller than him you know. It’s easy to guard us cause we taller than everybody.” When a player is taller than his opponents, he’s a bigger target than everybody else. He can be spotted easily when moving.
KD breaks down why Jayson Tatum found it hard against Andrew Wiggins
Andrew Wiggins has been crucial for the Warriors’ success this season. Many appreciate his path to the title win as he always had to prove himself again and again in the NBA. His numbers were nothing short of exceptional during the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics. He managed to average 18.0 points, 2.6 assists, and 9.6 rebounds per game.
During the podcast, Kevin Durant spoke about Jayson Tatum and how this year’s finals were his path to greatness. He also mentioned that Tatum played as a point guard most of the time during the 6 games against GSW. He found it hard to make an impact to create plays like a PG while being the team’s best scorer, which Durant also mentioned.
KD also mentioned how tall players find it hard to get past their shorter opponents. He claimed, “Even though we can dribble, even though we can make plays from out there, it’s like no matter how low I get, you can get lower.” His comments can be taken as expert opinion, taking into account his experience in the league.
Make no mistake, Tatum is a world-class player, but Wiggins has improved massively in terms of defense. Wiggins’ DREB against the Celtics was 7.4 per game in 6 games. That’s one stat that supports what KD and Eddie said about Wiggins doing well in defense.
Discussion about this post