Kevin Durant disagrees with opposing star’s bold claim

Kevin Durant is haggling with a recent claim made by an NBA opponent.

During an interview earlier this season, Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns declared himself to be the greatest shooting big man in NBA history. Speaking this week on Boardroom’s “The ETCs Podcast,” Durant reacted to Towns’ bold proclamation by saying that Dirk Nowitzki, not Towns, is the greatest shooting big ever.

"[Dirk's the] greatest big man shooter of all time. Although I respect KAT … but for KAT to say that, come on."@KDTrey5 weighs in on this and a lot more in the latest episode of #TheETCs with @bansky out now: https://t.co/rWIAuqcKNM pic.twitter.com/UJdH4BMsxi

— Boardroom (@boardroom) March 23, 2022

The 26-year-old Towns, a 39.7 percent career three-point shooter, bolstered his “greatest shooting big ever” claim by winning the Three Point Contest at NBA All-Star Weekend last month. Towns also leads all qualified centers this season with a 41.1 three-point percentage.

But Nowitzki, who finished his career at 38.0 percent from deep, was the original stretch big (at least in terms of shooting the three with significant volume). Many, including Durant, will always consider Nowitzki to be the gold standard in that category. Nowitzki himself also had an interesting reaction to Towns’ claim a few months ago.

Photo: Oct 11, 2021; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant (7) in action against the Philadelphia 76ers during the first quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports