Kevin Durant did not take too kindly to some comments made by former NFL star Keyshawn Johnson on Undisputed. Johnson was debating with Skip Bayless and Paul Pierce on whether one should want Durant or LeBron James in a winner-take-all game when he downplayed the former’s impact on the Golden State Warriors.
“If I put Paul Pierce on the Golden State Warriors with Klay Thompson, Draymond (Green), and Steph Curry, you don’t think he could do the same s***? I mean the same thing? … P can do the same thing,” Johnson said.
“If I put Paul Pierce on the Golden State Warriors with Klay Thompson and Draymond and Steph Curry, you don't think he could do the same sh*t?”
– Keyshawn Johnson on Kevin Durant
(h/t @awfulannouncing )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 29, 2024
When Durant got wind of those comments, the Phoenix Suns superstar fired a shot at Johnson.
“If the Jets would’ve took Jonathan Ogden, Marvin Harrison, Ray Lewis, or Eddie George number 1 they would’ve been better off……I hate hypotheticals.”
If the jets would’ve took Jonathan Ogden, Marvin Harrison, ray lewis or Eddie George number 1 they would’ve been better off……I hate hypotheticals https://t.co/3N6ngC1C3H
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) July 29, 2024
That was quite the comeback. Durant was referring to the New York Jets selecting Johnson with the first pick of the 1996 NFL Draft. Keyshawn went on to become a three-time Pro Bowler, but he didn’t quite live up to the hype and was even traded by the team after his rookie season.
The Jets passed on Hall of Famers like Ray Lewis, Jonathan Ogden, and Marvin Harrison for Johnson and certainly would have some regrets about that. They won their first and only Superbowl in 1969, but if they had drafted one of those three, maybe they would have won another by now.
As for Johnson’s initial comments, I completely disagree with him. While Durant doesn’t like hypotheticals, let’s just have a deeper look here.
Would the Warriors have won championships in 2017 and 2018 if they had replaced Harrison Barnes with Pierce in his prime in 2016? I think they would have, but they wouldn’t have been anywhere near as dominant as they were with Durant.
Pierce was undoubtedly a very good player, as he made 10 All-Star teams and averaged 19.7 points per game for his career. His best scoring season was 2005-06, where he averaged 26.8 points per game. In total, Pierce averaged at least 25.0 points in five seasons.
While all that is quite impressive, Pierce was nowhere near as good as Durant. The 35-year-old has averaged at least 25.0 points per game in 15 seasons and has a career scoring average of 27.3 points per game. He has won four scoring titles and was league MVP in 2014.
Durant was also a great defender during his time with the Warriors while Pierce never really impressed on the defensive end. With all that in mind, for Johnson to suggest that the latter would have had the same impact as the former, was quite ridiculous.
The moment the Warriors signed Durant in 2016 after finishing with a 73-9 record the season prior, you knew it was all over for the rest of the league. Beating a team with Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green in a seven-game series was all but impossible.
The Warriors would win championships in 2017 and 2018 with Durant leading the way and if he had not torn his Achilles in the 2019 NBA Finals, they would have three-peated as well. He then left for the Brooklyn Nets the following offseason to end his short Warriors tenure with two titles and two Finals MVPs.
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