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50 Greatest NBA Players Without A Championship (Updated Through 2015-16)

By Phil Watson

May 14, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) shoots over Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (12) in game six of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
May 14, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) shoots over Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (12) in game six of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports /
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7. Kevin Durant

Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder 2007-16

The Seattle SuperSonics got the No. 2 overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft and “settled” for Texas’ Naismith and Wooden award winner Kevin Durant.

It’s worked out OK for the franchise. Durant was the Rookie of the Year in 2007-08 and the NBA MVP in 2013-14. He’s a six-time All-NBA player with seven All-Star appearances who has also won four scoring titles and led the NBA in free throw shooting in 2012-13.

The Sonics missed the playoffs in 2008 and the franchise relocated to Oklahoma City in the summer of 2008.

After missing the playoffs in their first season in Oklahoma, the Thunder lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round in 2010.

In 2011, Oklahoma City beat the Denver Nuggets in the first round and took a Game 7 from the Memphis Grizzlies in the second round before going down in the Western Conference Finals in five games to the eventual champion Dallas Mavericks.

The following season, the Thunder swept defending champion Dallas in the first round, beat the L.A. Lakers in five games in the second round and took down the San Antonio Spurs in six games in the Western Conference Finals. But the Miami Heat won the NBA Finals in five games.

After beating the Houston Rockets in the first round in 2013, Oklahoma City lost in five games to the Grizzlies in the second round, missing star point guard Russell Westbrook.

In 2014, the Thunder won a first-round Game 7 against Memphis, took down the Los Angeles Clippers in six games in the second round, but lost to San Antonio in the Western Conference Finals in six games.

Limited to 27 games because of a foot injury in 2014-15, the Thunder were back with a vengeance with a healthy Durant this season, taking a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference Finals before the Golden State Warriors came back to take the series.

Durant is averaging 27.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.0 block in 37.8 minutes per game in his career, shooting .483/.380/.882.

Durant’s 27.4 points per game average is third-best in NBA history and he will become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2016.

The current tally on Durant’s playoff career:

NBA Finals: 0-1
Conference Finals: 1-3
Conference Semifinals: 4-1
First Round: 5-1

Next: 6. Eight Wasn’t Enough