Kevin Durant is arguably the most devastating offensive player in the NBA but his work on the defensive end has elevated his game to another level this season.

During his terrific first campaign with the Golden State Warriors, KD developed into an elite two-way player and helped the team become the best offensive and defensive team in the league.

This year, he has taken that production up a notch and has been among the best defenders and has the numbers to back it up.

Rim protector

The reigning Finals MVP is averaging a career-best 2.5 blocks per game and is turning into a valuable rim protector for the Warriors.

In a win over the New Orleans Pelicans last month, Durant posted a career-high seven rejections to go along with 22 points and eight rebounds as he dominated both ends.

The small forward recently admitted that he wasn't the best team defender until he arrived in the Bay Area and credits Steve Kerr's system for improving his game in that aspect.

But in a recent interview with ESPN, he said his increased effort and focus on defence was born out of fear.

"I've been a scorer my whole life," Durant told ESPN. "I've been a one-on-one player my whole life. All I've thought about in the past was different ways to score, rather than different ways to impact the game. Since 2012-13, I've been trying to figure out ways to impact the game outside of scoring.

"Defence started to creep in there probably two years before I got to the Warriors. Defence started to become a focal point for me where I wanted to be trusted.

"I didn't want to be the guy where all the film clips are about how they back-doored me, or how someone drove around me, or how I'm not contesting shots. I was more so just nervous about being called out during film sessions. That's why I wanted to get better."

Not only is he better, he is dominant. The eight-time All-Star has racked up 27 blocks already this campaign, which is second in the NBA behind Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert.

His length and ability to guard all five positions adds another dimension to the Warriors defence and makes them even more formidable when they roll out their small 'death' lineup which also features Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala.

Recognition

Of all the honours he's accomplished in his career, the 29-year-old doesn't own any defensive awards.

If he continues in this manner, he'll surely be a contender for this season's Defensive Player of the Year award and his head coach believes he can claim it.

"Yes, he can," Kerr said. "I think the only thing holding him back is just the attention to detail on a nightly basis that you see from Andre and Draymond.

"KD's length and versatility and speed and ability to close ground is just shocking, and when he's on his game defensively, it's amazing to watch.

"But like a lot of great offensive talents, he might lose focus a little bit and take a possession or two off, and that's what we try to stay on him about. But he's been fantastic."

Even though Durant regularly states that he isn't driven by individual achievements, he did tell ESPN he would "like to be an All-NBA defender."

His teammate Green thinks he did enough last season and should have been on the ballot with him.

"I think it was bulls--- that he didn't make it last year," Green told ESPN. "He was great on the defensive end last year and we had the number two defence.

"When you have a guy like that where his offence is so damn pretty, his defence gets overlooked. But he is a great defender. With his length and athleticism, he can make it tough on anyone and guard just about anyone.

"So I think it's about time that he gets recognition for that. Michael Jordan got recognition for his defence, LeBron has gotten recognition before for his defence, Kobe got recognition for his defence. Why the hell hasn't he?"

His defensive prowess can no longer be overlooked as he could potentially overtake Draymond and become the best in the league.