Kevin Durant Asks Why He Isn't Included in NBA GOAT Debate: 'What Haven't I Done?'

Every NBA fan has likely argued whether Michael Jordan or LeBron James is the greatest player of all-time at some point.

But Kevin Durant believes he should be included in those arguments as well.

"Why shouldn't I be in that? That's the question you should ask," he said, per Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. "Why not? What haven't I done?"

Durant is not lacking in self-awareness, though.

He answered his own question before posing it by saying "Because I went to the Warriors."

It may not be fair, but Durant's decision to join the same Golden State Warriors team that just eliminated his Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2016 Western Conference Finals certainly impacted his legacy in the eyes of some fans.

Golden State won an NBA-record 73 regular-season games in the 2015-16 campaign but then lost to James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. The Warriors responded by adding Durant during the ensuing offseason, and they reached three straight Finals and won two with him and Stephen Curry leading the way.

If Durant and Klay Thompson didn't get injured during the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors, the Warriors may have three-peated.

The two championships with those loaded Warriors teams remain the only rings on Durant's resume. James won two of his four NBA titles with a superteam of his own on the Miami Heat with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, which he notably joined in a similar fashion to Durant signing with Golden State.

However, he elevated himself in the GOAT discussions with that incredible 2016 title on the Cavaliers and another on the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.

As for Jordan, he is a six-time champion who has long been considered the gold standard of the sport when it comes to individual talent. Yet even His Airness needed some help with Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman starring alongside him on the Chicago Bulls.

Of course, playing with Pippen, Rodman, Wade, Bosh, Kyrie Irving and others isn't exactly the same as joining a 73-win team that already won a championship and just missed another without Durant.

It's just a reality that some fans will likely never overlook when having GOAT debates, even if it isn't entirely fair for someone who has two rings, two NBA Finals MVPs, a league MVP, a Rookie of the Year, four scoring titles, 10 All-NBA selections and 13 All-Star nods.

Yet the debate remains: Jordan vs. LeBron.