Kevin Durant Will Be Playing For The Fifth Superteam In His NBA Career After The Suns Land Bradley Beal

Kevin Durant spent the first nine seasons of his NBA career playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder. During his stint with the organization, Durant reached one NBA Finals but failed to win a ring.

Since then, Durant has seemingly made it his habit to form superteams in hopes of winning championships. Durant will play on the fifth superteam of his career following Bradley Beal’s trade to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for a trade package around Chris Paul. With that said, let’s take a look at Durant’s run with each of his superteams.

Thunder Superteam: Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s young superteam of Durant (21 years old in 2009), Westbrook (21 years old in 2009), and Harden (20 years old in 2009) was formed ahead of the 2009-10 season. OKC drafted all three of them, and they reached their peak in 2012, when the Thunder advanced to the NBA Finals. However, OKC was no match for the Big 3 of the Miami Heat, featuring LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh, as they were defeated in five games. The team lasted for three seasons and had a regular season record of 152-78. Following the 2012 NBA Finals, Harden was traded to the Houston Rockets, thus marking the end of OKC’s young superteam.

Warriors Superteam: Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green

Kevin Durant joined the 73-9 Golden State Warriors superteam in 2016. KD’s move to the Dubs made him the new villain of the league, as he essentially destroyed the balance in the NBA. Durant stayed with the Warriors from 2016 to 2019 and reached the NBA Finals each season. The Warriors won two NBA Championships, with Durant being named the NBA Finals MVP each time. During his three-year stint with the Warriors, they had a combined 182-64 record. KD left the Warriors in 2019 following a beef with Draymond Green.

Nets Superteam: Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, James Harden

Kevin Durant signed with the Brooklyn Nets in 2019. He didn’t play his first game in a Nets jersey until the 2020-21 season, as he missed the entire 2019-20 season due to a torn Achilles injury. The Nets traded for James Harden to form a Big 3 of KD, Kyrie, and Harden. Unfortunately, the Nets’ superteam underachieved heavily. They never even made it to the NBA Finals, and in the middle of the 2021-22 season, Harden demanded a trade. In the 2022-23 season, KD and Irving also requested a trade, sending the Nets into a rebuilding phase. The trio played just 16 games together and had a 13-3 record.

Suns Superteam: Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Chris Paul

After a failed experiment with the Nets, Durant was traded to the Phoenix Suns in the middle of the 2022-23 season. Durant formed a Big 3 with Booker and Paul by his side. In addition, the Suns also had Deandre Ayton, who posted 18.0 PPG last season. Either way, the Suns were eliminated in the Western Conference Semifinals in six games by the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs, and the superteam is already finished with CP3 getting traded for Bradley Beal.

Suns Superteam 2.0: Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal

The Suns have created another superteam with Durant, Booker, and Beal. As of now, the Suns’ potential starting lineup for the 2023-24 season is looking stacked. The expectation from them is to win the 2024 NBA Championship. Anything less than that would be considered a failure. However, in order to do that, they will need to trade Deandre Ayton. If they can manage to trade Ayton for a bunch of quality role players, Phoenix will hands down be the favorites to win the title. But before that? They have a stacked startling lineup with little to no help from the bench.

Is Kevin Durant A Superteam Merchant?

There is no doubt that Kevin Durant is one of the best scorers to ever play in the NBA. So far, he has averaged 27.3 PPG, 7.1 RPG, and 4.3 APG over 986 career games.

But since joining the Warriors in 2016, the Slim Reaper has lost the respect of most fans. Following the recent announcement of Bradley Beal’s trade to the Suns, NBA fans roasted Durant. They labeled him a ‘Superteam Merchant.’ 

It’s safe to assume that the Suns will enter the 2023-24 season as one of the most hated teams in the league. But can they really win an NBA Championship with three ball-dominant players in KD, Booker, and Beal? We will find out over the course of the upcoming season.

We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.

Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.