Kevin Durant and Nicolas Claxton gave the Nets something rare over the last five seasons: a pick-and-roll partnership that was flat-out lethal when it was on the floor.
Todd Whitehead’s Saturday rundown of every NBA team’s most productive pick duo put Brooklyn’s pair in a strong light. Durant and Claxton tied for 26th in points over expectation with the San Antonio Spurs duo of Victor Wembanyama and Chris Paul, but the more telling number was the efficiency. Brooklyn’s top pick partners produced 1.19 points per possession, a mark that edged the Indiana Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner at 1.18.
That efficiency came in a relatively tiny sample. Durant and Claxton logged just 85 games together, which is why they landed lower on the list than some duos that spent multiple seasons building chemistry. But when they were connected, the fit worked.
Durant’s scoring bag made the whole thing hum. He could use a Claxton screen and rise into a pull-up three, or take a couple of dribbles into the mid-range and bury the jumper.
At 6-foot-11, with that absurd release point, he was a nightmare to contest. After coming back from a torn Achilles in 2019, the ability to shift from downhill pressure into quick-stop pull-ups became a major part of his game.
He also passed it at a level Brooklyn hadn’t seen from him before. Durant averaged 5.6 assists in 2020-21 and then set a career high with 6.4 in 2021-22.
Claxton, meanwhile, grew into the role of screener and roller with Durant feeding him. Defenses often loaded up on Durant and forced the ball out of his hands, and that usually left Claxton with room to sprint to the rim.
The results showed up in the dunk totals: 41 in 2020-21 and 88 in 2021-22. There’s no stat that separates lob dunks from regular dunks, but Durant and James Harden were both central to Claxton’s rise, starting from when he was the 35th overall pick.
The partnership didn’t last long. Brooklyn traded the 16-time All-Star to the Phoenix Suns at the 2023 trade deadline. Later, general manager Sean Marks sent his starting center to the Chicago Bulls in a four-team deal to bring in Julius Randle in June.
The Nets may never again get a duo that clicked at that level. Durant and Claxton were among the league’s most efficient pick-and-roll combinations, and the article’s bottom line is clear: if health had cooperated, Brooklyn might have had a championship-level tandem.
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