Kevin Durant vs Larry Bird: Who was better in their prime?

Defense

Durant: 8/10

Kevin Durant benefits greatly from his physical attributes on the defensive end. His insanely long wingspan allows him to contest shots that most other players couldn’t. Furthermore, his agility and footwork that he uses to kill teams on offense translate greatly to defense.

He is one of the quickest moving bigs the league has ever seen. Durant can keep up with the other teams fastest player and rise up with their tallest as well. All of these things combine to make Durant an elite defender.

In the last two seasons, Durant has averaged a combined 1.7 blocks per game. He also fell just a few votes short of making it to the NBA’s All-Defensive team.

His biggest weakness on defense is his slim frame. He can be bullied in the post by a bigger player and struggles guarding players with more muscle than him. While his thin build makes him able to guard the perimeter, it punishes him in the paint.

Bird: 8/10

While Larry Bird might not look like a scary defender, don’t sleep on him. Bird’s sneaky athleticism often surprised his opponents. So much so that he averaged 1.7 steals for his career. He also had two seasons in which he averaged 2+ steals a game.

Bird lacked lateral quickness but made up for it by being a basketball genius. He put the work in and studied each players game. This helped give him an edge in many matchups. His gameplan was always strong.

Another underrated aspect of defense, in general, is the ability to rebound the ball. The play doesn’t end until someone grabs the rebound. For his career, Bird averaged 8.0 defensive rebounds a game. Bird grabbed more defensive rebounds than Durant does in total rebounds.

Because of his play, Bird was selected to three different All-Defensive teams during his career. He will go down as one of the leagues most overlooked defenders.