Ja Morant willingly gave Kevin Durant the game ball after dribbling away the last 15 seconds of the Grizzlies-Suns set-to the other day. It wasn’t due to his magnanimity after the blue and gray secured their 11th triumph in 13 outings, and on the road to boot. Rather, it was because he felt the 15-time All-Star deserved to take the leather home as memento for being just the eighth player in National Basketball Association history to amass 30,000 points. There would be no repeat of the Bucks-Pacers tiff a little over a year ago, when Giannis Antetokounmpo (in scoring a career-high 64) and Oscar Tshiebwe (in scoring one, albeit the first-ever in the league) both wanted to keep the rock as a souvenir.
Indeed, Durant had cause to celebrate the feat, never mind the Suns’ inability to cap it off with a triumph. His milestone put him in distinguished company, joining all-time-great LeBron James as the only active players in the Top Nine, with all the others already in the Hall of Fame. Not coincidentally, Carmelo Anthony, the 10th on the list, is eligible for induction to Springfield this year. And, just like his contemporary, he appears to put up the eye-popping numbers with little to no effort; his silky-smooth jumper and singular skill set make his offensive forays all but unstoppable.
Ironically, Durant’s seeming nonchalance in plying his trade has given critics fuel to question his killer instinct, or relative lack thereof. The other day, for instance, the 34 markers to his name off a mere 18 field goal attempts could well have been much higher were he more inclined to look at the hoop more and his teammates less. From his naysayers’ vantage point, his show of efficiency actually doomed the Suns’ chances to win against the Grizzlies. After all, no one was more effective than he in getting the ball through the hoop. Yet, he kept on passing to others — even in the crunch, when selfishness on his part was, if anything, a necessity.
Significantly, the dichotomy has made Durant a journeyman in his own way. Not for nothing is he already on his fourth set of jerseys, with a fifth not out of the question despite his obvious value. When the Suns acquired him midway through the 2022-23 season, they deemed him a keeper. Two years later, they saw fit to dangle him in the trade market. Clearly, mediocrity breeds discontent, and only time will tell whether he has a case of wanderlust anew. Meanwhile, he keeps plodding on — the latest trophy in his mantel serving as testament to his greatness.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
