Kevin Durant is hands down one of the best players to step onto an NBA court. It was immediately apparent how good he was as he lit up defenses in Oklahoma City Thunder’s colors. But how does he measure up to the current crop of Thunder superstars? Say someone like 2025 MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander? Well, a fan made the comparison recently, and let’s just say KD found it questionable.

Now, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander came second last year in MVP voting before finally winning it this year. And in both years, he helped the OKC  Thunder finish as the top seed while averaging over 30 points a game. Clearly, he’s an incredible talent in his own right. Even so, Kevin Durant can’t help but take exception to this comparison, and it was apparent from KD’s most recent activity on X.

A fan wrote, “My dad says he’d take Prime Shai over Prime KD, is he right?” To this, sports betting personality Raheem Palmer wrote, “He’s right. There’s probably a dozen or more stars from the past 25 years I’d take over Prime KD. He’s literally the most overrated player of the past 25 years in any sport.” And KD couldn’t help but cheekily clap back. “If I respond to this, will it be considered sensitive?” he questioned.

This tongue-in-cheek reply from Kevin Durant was a two-front assault. It was aimed at both the comparison between him and Shai, while also making fun of the narrative that KD is “sensitive” or “soft”. But the fan making this post can be chalked up to Shai breaking a record set by Durant when the Paycom Center was his stomping grounds. After his 24-point showing tonight,  SGA passed KD for the most points scored in a Thunder Playoff run with 571 in this year’s playoffs.

That said, Durant’s frustration is wholly understandable.

Kevin Durant has arguably been among the top 3 players in the NBA since he came into his own during his sophomore season in the league. So, saying that there are over a dozen or more players in the last 25 years who are better than him is simply asinine. But the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander comparison? Now that’s something worth discussing. So let’s put these two head-to-head and see who comes out on top as the greater Oklahoma City Thunder player.

Kevin Durant vs. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – who’s been better for the Thunder?

Now, before we pit these two’s accomplishments head-to-head, let’s establish a couple of ground rules. Only achievements in an OKC shirt count. So KD’s Finals MVPs as part of the Golden State Warriors don’t count. Nor do his rings. Moreover, since it’s impossible to be objective about it, we’ll leave team accomplishments out of it.

Let’s start with Shai first. As a Thunder player, he has made the All-Star game thrice. And made the All-NBA First Team just as many times. His third inclusion came this year.  Of course, Shai also became both the 2025 NBA MVP and the scoring champion this season. And to wrap things up, he’s averaged over thirty points for the last three seasons consecutively, something KD hasn’t done.

But you know what KD HAS done? He has been the NBA scoring champion for 3 years in a row from 200910 to 2011-12. Yes, we’re talking Kevin Durant now. But despite exceeding Shai’s scoring title tally, they’ve got the same number of MVP shouts — one. But Durant has also made the All-Star team a whopping 6 times while wearing a Thunder shirt. And he made the All-NBA First Team from 2010 to 2014 while also having the elusive 50-40-90 season in 2013.  All this only scratches the surface of Kevin Durant’s list of accomplishments.

By now, the picture might be getting clearer for you. But allow us to spell it out. Kevin Durant has achieved more in OKC colors. And as great as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is, he still needs to do more to surpass KD.