The 2019 NBA Finals was a real turning point for the NBA. It was a historic series, as the dominant Golden State Warriors dynasty would reach what would then be their last NBA Finals appearance. Whereas the Toronto Raptors, one of the youngest franchises in NBA history, reached the NBA Finals for the first time. The series ended with the Raptors vanquishing a depleted Warriors squad that lost Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson during the series.
But Kevin Durant believes things would have been very different had he been healthy. During an interview from a few years ago with his friend and former teammate Serge Ibaka, who was on the 2019 Raptors, Durant argued that the Warriors would have dominated the Toronto Raptors. He added that the experience of the Warriors would have helped them get past the Raptors, especially if it went to a Game 7 (2nd slide).
“If you put an ‘if’ in front of anything, I can believe anything. So yes. I could, I was like Sub-Zero. Let’s put it like this, if y’all going to a game 7 with a two-time champ, you’re not winning that game. Game 6, you almost lost anyway, so Game 6, we would’ve smacked y’all at the crib. And then, Game 7, I know for sure y’all wouldn’t, you could have heard a pin drop in y’all locker room in Game 7 walking into that arena.”
KD and Ibaka were good friends, so were able to have an open conversation. The two players had experience playing in an NBA Finals as teammates, when both Durant and Ibaka were on the 2011-12 Oklahoma City Thunder team that dominated the Western Conference and put up a strong fight against the Miami Heat, before being shut down by LeBron James and company.
The 2019 NBA Finals was the last time we saw Kevin Durant in a Warriors jersey, and the last time we saw Kawhi Leonard in Toronto. Both players moved teams, with KD joining the Nets, and Leonard joining the LA Clippers. While many believe that the Warriors could have beaten the Raptors if they were healthy, there is no taking away what the Raptors were able to accomplish.
