Kevin Durant’s move to the Golden State Warriors in 2016 remains a very controversial topic around the league. It’s been six years since that moment, and a lot of people seem to have a problem getting over it, with fans constantly attacking KD for that decision.
The fact that he joined the team that just beat him the prior playoff didn’t sit well with many fans, especially when that team had won 73 regular season games and didn’t need your help to compete for titles. Well, none of that mattered to KD, who still went to the Bay to join the Dubs, winning two NBA champions at Oracle Arena in the process.
Even though some say he joined the Warriors to have an easier path to the championship after being unable to beat them, others claim that Durant was thinking about that move before that infamous 2016 Western Conference Finals where the Oklahoma City Thunder lost a 3-1 advantage against Stephen Curry and co.
Draymond Green Says Kevin Durant Wanted To Play For Warriors Before 2016
During a recent appearance on Checc’n In Podcast, Draymond Green discussed a variety of topics, including his mom’s financial struggles while he grew up, his journey on the Warriors, and more. He also touched on the Durant move to Golden State, saying that KD wanted to play a brand of basketball that only two teams in the league played at that time.
“KD wanted to play good basketball,” Green said, via NBC Sports’ Eduardo Razo. “You saw the type of basketball we was playing, guys moving the ball. It’s Steph hot. Everybody running screen for Steph. Everybody trying to get Steph the ball; we having fun.
“He wanted to play good basketball. We were playing the best brand of basketball. The brand of basketball that we play, pass, move. No one in the NBA was playing that brand of basketball except for the San Antonio Spurs.
Green said that even before the infamous 2016 Western Conference Finals, Durant was thinking about joining the Warriors, and that unforgettable loss was the last straw for him.
“Everybody’s running pick and roll and taking advantage of mismatches because that was the cycle that the NBA was in,” Green added. “We then changed the game of basketball and how basketball was played.
“KD saw that. KD wanted to play that brand of basketball. KD wanted to play with us … In my heart, believe before it ever came to them being up 3-1. KD wanted to come to the Warriors.”
In the end, even though he earned a lot of criticism for that decision, Durant joined the Dubs, creating one of the most overpowered superteams the NBA has ever seen. They went to three straight NBA Finals together, winning two of them, with Durant taking home Finals MVP honors in each of them.
Even if things didn’t end well between them, everybody knows that their partnership was great, and they could have made more damage to rivals if Durant didn’t join the Brooklyn Nets in 2019.
