Kevin Durant receives shocking poll results regarding public perception among NBA fans

Nate Silver conducted an interesting study that looked into the popularity of the league’s all-time players. While the study was far from scientific, it gave people an insight into the public perception of specific personalities.

According to an admittedly "deliberately subjective" poll of his social media followers by Nate Silver, via The Spun’s Matt Hladik, players were assessed based on general vibes and would get any of the following scores: “great vibes” equal to 100 points, “good vibes” average at 67, “mediocre vibes” register at 33, and “bad vibes” get a fat zero.

Durant was among the people assessed in the study and ranked 25th out of the 27 players in the poll. He was only ahead of Chris Paul and Karl Malone, great ballers with difficult personalities.

Silver thinks that Durant’s two rings with the Golden State Warriors greatly impacted his standing as his turn with the Suns and Brooklyn Nets tanked public perception towards him:

“Both Brooklyn and Phoenix have consistently been regarded as championship contenders during KD’s tenure there,” Silver explained.

“And they’ve consistently found new ways to disappoint and infuriate those who believed in them — or bet on them — from KD’s foot-on-the-line against the Bucks, to Kyrie Irving’s refusal to be vaccinated, to the Suns not owning their own first round pick until 2031 and yet still not making it out of the first round. Not all of that is KD’s fault exactly — but he’s got a bit of the Chris Paul Raincloud Syndrome.”

Durant had a great season if you look at the basketball side of things. The 35-year-old finished the season with 27.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 5.0 assists on 52.3% shooting and 41.3% from deep.

However, his stints as the primary option after leaving the Dubs overshadow his legacy. The only way he can change the narrative surrounding him is if he wins a championship as the leading man. The clock is ticking for him and his legacy, though.