Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant isn’t competing during the resumed 2019-20 NBA season but is offering his projection for which team will win the league title in October.
Durant appeared on the “Play For Keeps” podcast and narrowed down his NBA Finals pick to the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers, with the Clippers winning in seven games.
“If I could choose, I would go Clippers-Bucks for the championship, and I’ll go with the Clippers [winning it all],” Durant said.
Going into further depth on his selection, Durant explained that the depth on the Clippers squad will help them capture what would be their first NBA championship.
“They’re just so deep. I think once they figure out — because it feels like they haven’t had their team together at once yet for a long period of time — that talent is just undeniable to me when you have P.G. (Paul George) and Kawhi [Leonard] at the wings,” Durant said. “That’s what you need to win is wings. You got those two at the wings arguably the top three, top four at the wing position on one team. And then you have the two best bench scorers — well not the two best, but the best combo, they perfectly fit with the big and guard — they play off of each other well.
“And then you have moving parts like a Marcus Morris, who started on other teams, Reggie Jackson, who was a starter, Landry Shamet, who is a sniper, JaMychal Green, Joakim Noah, he’s giving you solid minutes. They can go 11-deep. [Ivica] Zubac, too. They’ve got like 11 players that actually can play and you wouldn’t mind putting on the court and playing.
“They all wanna win. Pat Bev (Patrick Beverley), I forgot about Pat Bev! Their whole team can play in a playoff game.”
Both George and Leonard are in their first seasons as members of the Clippers, a team that was fully expected to challenge for a championship when the season began.
Clippers head coach Doc Rivers and assistant coach Tyronn Lue have each led other teams to titles, so the team is talented both on the court and sidelines.
Durant has missed the entire 2019-20 season with the Nets after suffering an Achilles injury in the 2019 finals but is expected to be back to full health next season.
Having twice won Finals MVP as a member of the Golden State Warriors, Durant knows what it takes to succeed on the league’s biggest stage. However, it will be a few months before fans will be able to see if he is correct with his prediction.
