Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant makes his argument as game's greatest player with virtuoso Game 5

Updated Jun. 16, 2021 4:00 p.m. ET

Kevin Durant’s star power was on full display Tuesday.

With Kyrie Irving out and James Harden essentially playing on one leg, Durant shined in the Brooklyn Nets’ 114-108 Game 5 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks – so much so that some in the sports world are convinced Durant has proven himself as the NBA’s greatest player.

Durant scored for 43% of the Nets' points in Game 5, going 16-for-23 from the field with 49 points and 17 rebounds – his second-most in a playoff game – in 48 minutes. He added three steals, two blocks and a postseason-career-high 10 assists on the night.

The four-time scoring champion is the first player in NBA history to record at least 45 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in a playoff game.

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When speaking to the media after Tuesday's game, Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo went as far to declare Durant the best player in the world.

"We’ve got to guard him as a team," Antetokounmpo said. "We’ve got to make him make tough shots like tonight. We’ve just got to keep doing our job, and hopefully, he’s going to miss."

That said, the question remains: Has Durant solidified his place as the best player in today's NBA with Tuesday's dazzling triple-double performance?

On Wednesday’s "First Things First," former NFL Pro Bowler Brandon Marshall had no problem agreeing with that notion.

"KD did exactly what he was supposed to do. He came through when his team needed him in the biggest moment. … They took it one possession at a time, and these are the type of moments for KD, where, when everyone knows you’re gonna shoot the ball and you still produce, you go from superstar to Mount Rushmore superstar."

It was just a couple of years ago that Durant was plagued by injuries as a member of the Golden State Warriors. He strained his right calf in the 2019 Western Conference semifinals against the Houston Rockets and was kept out the remainder of the series and all of the Western Conference finals. He returned to the court in Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors and promptly tore his right Achilles tendon, an injury that cost him the entire 2019-20 season.

However, Durant's comeback has been nothing short of astounding, as Marshall's co-host, Nick Wright , pointed out Wednesday. Wright called Durant's Game 5 performance the best postseason game ever played – better than any playoff performance by Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant or Larry Bird.

"For Kevin Durant to play every single second of that basketball game and to be going all-out on both ends was one of the most remarkable physical accomplishments I’ve ever seen in the NBA," Wright began. "This man is a couple years removed from the single worst injury a basketball player can suffer, and all he did last night was shoot flames out his eyeballs when his team needed every single possession."

Durant was indeed on fire Tuesday, as he scored or assisted on 43 of the Nets' last 52 points and 74 of the Nets’ 114 points (65%).

On Wednesday’s "Undisputed," Skip Bayless agreed with Wright, still sitting in awe of what Durant produced Tuesday.

"The way Kevin scores, I have never seen anything like [it]," Bayless said. "We’ve never ever seen anybody 7 feet tall shoot with the kind of range that he shoots with, and when he gets his rhythm, it goes deeper and deeper until it gets silly deep."

But even given Durant's virtuoso evening, there was one person who said he wants to see more, meaning a larger sample. Shannon Sharpe maintained that Durant can't be considered the greatest player in the league based on one game, no matter how impressive it was.

"He was spectacular, but it’s one game," Sharpe said. "He's gonna have to finish it off now because he’s given us a taste of what he can do when asked to do the things he’s never been asked to do before. … Now James Harden [is] on one leg … no Kyrie [Irving] with the ankle.

"For KD to do what he did, that was something special … but I do not believe, off of that one performance, that Kevin Durant proved he’s the best player."

Brooklyn leads the series 3-2, but Durant will have his work cut out for him on Thursday in Game 6, as the series returns to Milwaukee, where the Bucks are 4-0 against Brooklyn this season.

However, even if it was just one game, Durant has proven that the large load he will be required to carry until Harden and Irving are back to their old ways isn't too heavy for his shoulders.

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