Having to guard a healthy Kevin Durant is damn near impossible. Durant is a seven footer with the handles and shooting range of a guard, and when he is able to rise and fire, his arms are so long that the best defense might be a strong breeze that somehow makes its way into the arena.
Still, the NBA is the best basketball league in the world because of the aptitude guys have on both ends of the floor, and even if checking Durant is tough, some guys can do it better than others. Durant was asked on Twitter who the league’s best 1-on-1 defender is, and while he gave a bit of a caveat as to why he’s so good, the former MVP praised Houston Rockets forward P.J. Tucker.
https://twitter.com/offhandscoop/status/1169626911787638785
Pj tucker hackin ass lol
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) September 5, 2019
Lmfaoooo pj be sitting on that cross! 🙅🏿♂️🙅🏿♂️
— B-Moe (@bmoe_careful) September 5, 2019
No cap but I gotta get straight to the money on him
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) September 5, 2019
Plenty of guys are certainly in this conversation, but it makes sense that Durant would single out his fellow former Texas Longhorn. The pair have battled in the postseason in each of the last few years — Durant as a member of the Golden State Warriors, Tucker as the Rockets’ designated KD stopper. Tucker is as physical of a defender as there is in the league, plus he’s the kind of guy who really battles on every single possession and prides himself on being a pest against the best scorers in the league.
It, obviously, hasn’t led to Houston taking down the Dubs in the postseason, but it’s safe to say the Rockets have needed everything Tucker has given them over the last few years. At the very least, he can take pride in knowing perhaps the best scorer on earth views him as the best 1-on-1 defender in the league.
