A model of efficiency for almost… always, Kevin Durant has pushed the limits once more this season. We knew the 50-40-90 club, now up to the 55-40-90 club, which KD has just inaugurated.
50% shooting, 40% 3-pointers, 90% free throws.
For any striker, for any shooter, here are the benchmark numbers for basketball efficiency. In NBA history, only nine players (Larry Bird, Steve Nash, Stephen Curry, Reggie Miller…) have managed to finish a regular season with such shooting percentages, proof that we are in a real VIP circle. Among them ? A certain Kevin Durant, who has also achieved the feat twice in his career. The first time was in 2012-13 in Oklahoma City, the second was this season between Brooklyn and Phoenix. But KD didn’t “limit” himself to 50-40-90 this year, he went even higher.
Kevin Durant is the 1st 55-40-90 player in NBA history.
Durant 2022-23 | 56% FG | 40% 3P | 92% FT
Credit @StatsWilliams pic.twitter.com/SHmLvJnYFG
— Kirk Goldsberry (@kirkgoldsberry) April 10, 2023
56% shooting, 40.4% parking and 91.9% free throws, at this level it’s art.
No one in NBA history has finished a campaign 55-40-90.further proof of the exceptional level of efficiency at which the Slim Reaper has been evolving for so many seasons.
So certainly, Kevin Durant achieved this feat by playing only 47 matches out of 82. This deserves to be mentioned because it is always harder to maintain a high level of efficiency with more matches on the clock, especially for reasons of fatigue and because the slightest air pocket can lower the averages of the season. But at the same time, Durant attempted almost 19 shots per game (862 in total), and met the minimum totals for his season to be counted in the history books, namely 300 shots scored (483 for KD), 82 winning shots (93) and 125 successful throws (307).
It is therefore an additional achievement for Durant, who notably boosted his efficiency stats by joining the Suns at the trade deadline, in particular at 3-point range with almost 54% success from behind the arc in eight games. Enough to freak out the competition at the dawn of the NBA Playoffs…
