Suns' Kevin Durant Wants to Be 'All Around Great,' Asks for Top Defensive Matchups

Kevin Durant is already known as one of the most lethal scorers to ever play.

Now, he wants to improve his reputation on the defensive end.

Durant told Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports that he's requested to defend opposing teams' best players this season as he continues his quest to be an "all-around great."

"Man, I really want to be all-around great at every area of the game, and the only way I can do that is if coach trusts me to be put in those positions," Durant said. "I can't practice that if I'm not in those positions. I'm asking for those matchups, I'm asking him to be creative with me on the defensive side so I can just get better, growing my experience and what it's like to be an all-around defender."

Durant has never been known as a bad defender, but he's also not been hailed as some sort of stopper, either. He's never made an All-Defensive team and has spent his career lauded as an unstoppable scorer rather than burrowing his way into the "two-way player" conversation.

It's exceedingly rare for an NBA player to become more committed to defense at age 35, but that's exactly what has happened with Durant. He's in the midst of one of his best defensive seasons, posting 1.3 blocks and 0.9 steals per game while his advanced metrics are all at or near a career best.

"Sometimes you have to hide top scorers just to manage their workload or whatever. But he wants that challenge each night," Suns coach Frank Vogel said. "He's more engaged when he's guarding a top guy. And his 7-foot length and wingspan, and ability to slide his feet, he can guard most guys in this league, big and small."

Durant's previous best defensive seasons were arguably his first two years with the Golden State Warriors, when the presence of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson allowed him to take on less of a burden offensively. The Suns haven't been able to provide the same reprieve this season with Bradley Beal dealing with injury issues, so this improvement has largely been a result of Durant simply locking in.

Vogel, known as a defensive guru, also deserves some credit for getting Durant to play to his strengths.