Kevin Durant doesn’t want to hear it.
His turnaround, fading, almost game-winning shot in Game 7 against the Milwaukee Bucks will go down as one of the greatest shots in Barclays Center history, and it almost sent the Nets into the Eastern Conference Finals.
But almost doesn’t count. Durant’s toe was on the line, and instead of a game-winner, it was a game-tying shot that sent the game into overtime, where the Bucks outscored the Nets, 6-2, to win the series.
In an appearance on “The Boardroom: Out of Office” podcast with his business partner, Rich Kleiman, Durant downplayed the significance of that shot, a shot that sent every spectator in the arena into the air with excitement.
“I’m getting so many congratulations now — I didn’t do anything. We lost,” he said. “I knew I could play, I knew I was nice. I’ve scored 48 before. I had big games before. I made big shots before. So it didn’t feel like anything special to me because we lost.”
Durant is right: He’s made big shots before. He’s made a career hitting shots when his team needs them most. Here are a few to relive while the offseason nobody expected slowly crawls by.
2017 NBA Finals: Game 3
One shot Durant prides himself on is the walk-in pull-up three. It’s a shot he’s hit a number of times this season alone, and a shot he hit to bury LeBron James and the Cavaliers as a member of the Golden State Warriors for his first title and first Finals MVP.
Durant grabbed a defensive rebound and dribbled three-quarters the length of the court before meeting James at the three-point line and hitting a three over his outstretched arm. The shot gave the Warriors a one-point lead and eventually helped Golden State take a 3-0 series lead over Cleveland.
2018 NBA Finals: Game 3
So nice, he did it twice.
The Warriors and Cavaliers battled in back-to-back Finals during Durant’s time in town, and he had an opportunity to seal the deal in both series.
Late in the final period, the Cavaliers attempted to switch on a screen, and Durant got a three-pointer up before a defender could close the distance. The shot gave Golden State a six-point lead with under a minute left in the fourth quarter, an advantage that proved insurmountable and gave the Warriors a 3-0 series lead.
52 in Dallas
In a close game in 2013 that needed an extra period to settle, Durant lost elite defender Shawn Marion on a double screen, then caught the inbounds pass and elevated from behind the hashmark to bury the Mavericks at the buzzer.
Game-winner vs Lakers
I’d like to think a game-winner against the late Kobe Bryant’s Lakers holds an extra special place in any player’s heart. Bryant wasn’t guarding Durant in this game, but Metta World Peace was, and he hit the same walk-in, staredown three in 2012 that he drills with regularity today.
The shot gave the Thunder a 3-1 series lead over the Lakers. Oklahoma City went on to reach the NBA Finals, where they eventually lost to the Miami Heat.
Almost game-winner vs. Bucks
The shot he hit against Milwaukee was hands-down the wildest shot I’ve witnessed in-person in my life. It looked like it had a below-zero chance of going in while it was leaving his hands, and the probability of it falling only increased as the ball reached closer to the rim.
Had the shot been a three, or had the Nets won in overtime, Durant may have reflected on this shot differently. Instead, it’s just an incredible moment in a season that ended far too soon.