Gilbert Arenas is headlining offseason talk by discussing various topics around the sport, from current to past. On the latest episode of Gil’s Arena, the former All-Star guard broke down the recruiting of Kevin Durant by the 2016-17 Warriors. Arenas seemed upset that the Warriors never caught the same flak for pursuing Durant that Durant caught for choosing the Warriors, implying he saved their legacy.
“We know those four went to the Hamptons to recruit. They are the [73-9] team who went to recruit so they could murk the rest of the NBA. Everybody put the narrative on KD for saying yes but not the Warriors for going out and getting a bazooka. Your guns weren’t big enough to beat LeBron James, that you got to go out and get a bazooka.”
“They are the [73-9] team… Everybody put the narrative on KD for saying yes & not the [Warriors]… Your guns weren’t big enough to beat LeBron James, that you got to go out & get a bazooka."
Gilbert Arenas on Kevin Durant saving Steph Curry's legacy 👀pic.twitter.com/Tzne76qU3D
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 22, 2024
The circumstances around Durant joining have always seemed dubious, primarily because both parties knew what they were doing would be a league-changing move. The Warriors allegedly recruited Durant starting with a phone call from Draymond Green to Durant, which later formalized into a proper pitch at the Hamptons where all the team’s stars were present.
Durant’s joining the Warriors led to them easily winning the 2017 and 2018 NBA Championships over the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James, who had some of the best individual performances of his career in those losses. The entire league was outmatched going against Golden State, with their run atop the NBA ending due to injuries and Durant leaving the franchise in 2019.
Could The Warriors Beat LeBron Without Durant?
The Warriors can only boast one Playoff series win over LeBron James without Kevin Durant on the roster, which is the 2015 NBA Finals that both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love missed due to injury. The Warriors had players missing in the 2016 Finals, so the 16-17 season could have led up to a fascinating rematch which lost all intrigue once Durant joined the Warriors as a free agent.
There have been various debates over the likelihood of LeBron winning more titles at the expense of the Warriors if Durant never joined, with former Warriors guard Quinn Cook publicly saying it himself.
“They won in 2016 and if KD doesn’t go to the Warriors, they win again. I don’t see the Warriors beating that Cavs team. I just don’t think they matched up well.”
The 2015 Finals MVP Andre Iguodala has also discussed his inability to lose alongside Durant, which helped the Warriors seal two titles over LeBron.
“I’ve had a lot of success playing with Kevin Durant. The 2010 World Championship was his coming out party and then two NBA championships came out of that. And then I played with him in the Olympics 2012. I’m pretty much undefeated with KD.”
LeBron and Stephen Curry have been fierce rivals their entire career, but it’s inarguable that Durant joining Steph’s side during the peak of the rivalry has impacted the statistics. Regardless, it’s a testament to James’ greatness that the two had to team up for title success because beating LeBron alone was too big a task.
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