Alright, now that it is essentially official that both of these players will pass up their final 3 years of the college experience in order to pursue a life in The League I feel safe discussing (a) who I think is the correct pick at the #1 spot (b) who will actually get picked at that spot (c) and who i think will in the long run be the better NBA player. Here goes:
(a) In my opinion, who should go at this spot depends on what team wins the lottery. That being said, in most situations, the top pick should be Greg Oden. About a month ago, I would have argued that in any situation Kevin Durant should be the #1 man, simply due to the fact that I am not a believer in drafting on potential, and Kevin Durant, at the time, was a better player. However, while watching the tournament, particularly in the Final Four, I was very impressed by Oden’s play, and his ability to take a team out of their game plan. Though he is still inconsistent at time, he is only going to get better from here on out. Also, while looking at the past NBA champions, almost all of those in the past decade have had a dominate big man. I think that both Durant and Oden will be dominate players in the league in the near future, and if I was a GM I might hope for the 2nd pick so I wouldn’t have to make this choice, but for the majority of the teams in the NBA, Oden is the #1 choice.
(b) These teams will take Durant if they win the lottery: The Minnesota Timberwolves (assuming they don’t do something idiotic such as trade KG) and The Los Angeles Clippers; also possibly the Boston Celtics, cus they are all about doing the exact opposite of the right thing for their team.
Everyone else I imagine would take Oden
(c) Before I go into who I think will be the better player when all is said and done and they retire, I would like to say that I think both of these players will be elite players in their careers, excluding unfortunate events such as catestrophic injuries or being coached by Isiah Thomas. That being said, I think Kevin Durant will be the better NBA player. In my opinion, he can be the best player in the league post-kobe, while something tells me Oden just does not have that un-matchable scoring ability that comes with being the best player in the NBA. Both are very complete players, but I watched Durant play about a dozen times this year, and each time I was more amazed at the many different ways he can beat a team on both ends of the court (Oden can do the same, but I just personally find Durant to be better). Also, he isn’t afraid to be the best and to take over a game, which except for the National championship game, is a problem that faces Greg Oden.
So there you have it. The “answer” to Oden v. Durant. If only NBA GM’s were as smart as me, this process would be so simple.
Durant “can be the best player in the league post-kobe, while something tells me Oden just does not have that un-matchable scoring ability that comes with being the best player in the NBA.”
I think you need to examine your assumptions. The highest scoring players in the league are very rarely the most valuable players in the league. Michael Jordan is the exception to the rule. That’s because he shot 50% from the field, much higher than most high scorers, and was exceptional in almost everything he did on the basketball court, again unlike most players on the court.
Kobe Bryant is a great player, but he is very far from the best player in the league. He may be the best at hitting difficult perimeter shots, but there are at least 10 players I would rather have if I had my choicc.
Any team that took Durant over Oden would be making an enormous mistake I think. Oden will dominate far more on the defensive end than Durant will on the offensive end. Oden will probably shoot 60%, be a rebounding titan, and not commit too many turnovers in the process. He may even hit his foul shots, unlike many other centers. Its far more possible he will end up being one of the greatest players to ever play the game than Durant.
Durant, for all the hype, much of it deserved, is not the same kind of player as Oden. He didnt shoot a very high percentage in college, especially against the best competition. His statistics were inflated by the ridiculous pace the Longhorns played at. He doesnt look to be a great defensive player either.. He is undersized right now for the NBA. He wil be great, I agree, but not as soon, and not as great overall as Oden.
Centers are also far far more important than scorers in basketball. Havng a player who is a rebounding and defensive monster and scores 15-20 points on very high percentage shooting, always win you more games than the “dynamic” players like Durant or Kobe.
The guys with the biggest shoe contracts aren’t necessarily the best players.