KEVIN DURANT - 50/40/90?

Only five players in NBA history have shot 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range and 90 percent from the free-throw line. Could Kevin Durant be the sixth?

Kevin Durant could soon become the sixth.

In just his fourth season, Durant looks to be on the cusp of joining the 50-40-90 club. It's a society of shooting efficiency so great that its five members are either already in the Hall of Fame or likely headed there someday.

The numbers stand for field-goal percentage, 3-point percentage and free-throw percentage. Since the NBA instituted the 3-pointer for the 1979-80 season, Larry Bird, Mark Price, Reggie Miller, Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki are the only players to compile the percentages in each category while meeting the league's requirements to qualify. Bird accomplished the feat twice. Nash has recorded those numbers four times, including each of the past three seasons.

With Durant, it seems to not be a question of if he'll join the club, but when.

Last season, at just 21, Durant made 47.6 percent of his shots from the field, 36.5 percent of his 3-pointers and 90 percent of his foul shots. Two seasons ago, Durant hit 42.2 percent of his 3-pointers.

And by all accounts, this will be Durant's biggest year yet.

The Thunder's star forward has quickly become more knowledgeable about the game. In each of his previous three seasons, Durant has added a new wrinkle to his offensive repertoire to make him a more complete scorer. Last year, Durant boosted his free-throw attempts from 7.1 per game to a league-leading 10.2 per game.

Now, after a summer of bulking up and experiencing his first bout with a more physical international game, Durant could return as an even better finisher at the rim and in the paint.

Durant also has shown more awareness when it comes to hoisting 3-pointers. Rather than settle for long-range shots, Durant now looks to beat his man off the dribble more often and work his way to the rim for more high-percentage shots or earn a trip to the foul line.

But duplicating the free-throw percentage might ultimately prove to be the most difficult challenge. Durant made just 21-28 foul shots in six preseason games, good for 75 percent.

History says, however, that whenever it is that Durant does add his name to the exclusive 50-40-90 club it will be nothing but good for the Thunder.

KEVIN DURANT - TOO UNSELFISH

Kevin Durant is too unselfish.

That's the one criticism U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski has of the Oklahoma City Thunder forward so far in the Americans' preparations for the world championships. He's watched Durant pass up too many shots.

A team's best player can't do that. Krzyzewski freely bestows that distinction on the 21-year-old Durant and is confident the other players on this young squad agree. It's hard to argue, considering Durant last season became the youngest to win the NBA scoring crown.

"They look to him all the time," Krzyzewski said. "They're OK with Kevin shooting. If he misses, they want him to shoot again. They know. They've seen it."

He needs to keep shooting even in games like Thursday's intrasquad scrimmage at Radio City Music Hall, when Durant was 4 of 12 and missed all five 3-point attempts.

"He's our guy," elder statesman Chauncey Billups said. "He's the go-to guy. He's the guy who for us is going to be the scorer and do all the things that Kobe, LeBron did on the Olympic team."

Durant sounded a bit conflicted upon being told his coach wanted him to be less unselfish.

"I thought I was doing a better job of finding the open man, but I guess he wants me to be more aggressive," he said.

"I don't want to be a guy that comes out here and tries to take all the shots," Durant added. "We have a lot of scorers here, so I just want to be a complement on the floor."

But he's noticed his point guards, Billups and Rajon Rondo, reminding him when he's not assertive enough.

"Certain situations during the game, I'm just letting him know we have to go through him down the stretch," Rondo said. "There's going to be some games where he has to take us home and not be so passive and be aggressive. The coaches obviously are drawing up plays to put him in situations to score the ball."

Durant averaged 30.1 points in his third NBA season to earn All-NBA first team honors. He led the Thunder to the playoffs, where they pushed the eventual champion Lakers to six games in the opening round.

"Be yourself," Lakers veteran Lamar Odom said of his advice for Durant. "He led the league in scoring. If he could lead this league in scoring, too, that would help."

No pressure.

But that's the prominent position Durant finds himself in even though this is his first stint on the national team. The U.S. heads into the world championships in Turkey later this month looking to win to clinch a berth at the 2012 Olympics.

"Everyone says Kevin Durant's the leader. He may be our best player; that doesn't mean you're the leader," Krzyzewski said. "Let him just be the best player. Let Chauncey and Lamar, those guys be the leaders."

The Americans play an exhibition Sunday against France at Madison Square Garden, the next chance for Durant to show he's not passing up on the shots a team's best player needs to take.

"Kevin wants to be an outstanding player," Krzyzewski said. "He wants to be the best. So being in this environment with this caliber of player, how he asserts himself here in a different environment will help him even more when he goes back to his current environment."

KEVIN DURANT - D'ING UP

Kevin Durant has stepped up his defense this year for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Says one Western Conference scout:
"This year I noticed he's more engaged. He's getting into his stance much sooner and not standing around, and getting back in transition. That's great because he's still very young -- he just turned 21. When you're that gifted offensively as a teenager, you just don't think about defense that much. I give a lot of credit to Thunder coach Scottie Brooks for getting him to buy in."

Says coach Scott Brooks:
"I spent time with Kevin watching the NBA playoff series and talking things over this summer," Brooks said. "There were so many great moments where great players were the ones defending -- Kobe, Carmelo, Paul Pierce -- and so many times the winning basketball play was on defense.

"Kevin always had the effort, but he didn't have the knowledge or the physicalness in his body to go through an entire NBA season playing defense. This summer he got his mind and his body right. He understood that if he was committed, we would be a much better team. We focused on defense from Day One, and when one of your better players is one of your better defenders."

"Knowing when to stay with your man and when to help out is one of the hardest things for young players coming in," Brooks said, "because you think you're playing defense if you're guarding your man, but you also have to be aware of what might happen three passes away.”

"We like to be as disruptive as possible, pushing people to the baseline, defending tight in the paint and closing out on shooters. We constantly talk about having a hand up in guys' faces -- you have to contest to make NBA players miss. And we like to force extra passes and get deflections."