Over the last eight seasons, the Golden State Warriors have played in six NBA Finals. In those six trips to the NBA Finals, the Dubs managed to win four NBA Championships. They are the definition of a dynasty. Currently, the Warriors may be one of the most beloved organizations in the league, but that wasn’t the case in 2016.
After blowing a 3-1 lead against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, most were loving the downfall of the Warriors. But in the offseason, the Dubs made an announcement that shocked most fans to their core. Yes, we are talking about when Kevin Durant signed with the Warriors.
At the time, the Warriors were coming off a 73-9 regular season and had three NBA All-Stars on the roster. Despite that, the Warriors decided to add arguably one of the best players of all time to that mix, Kevin Durant.
Klay Thompson On Kevin Durant Joining The Warriors
4x NBA champion Klay Thompson recently made an appearance in the latest episode of ‘All The Smoke’ podcast. Klay talked about various things during the podcast, and one of them was his initial reaction to KD joining the 73-9 Warriors.
(Starts at 1:00:10):
“I thought, ‘Oh, it’s over here’. I knew everybody would be so mad. We went from like little darlings in 2015, to like somewhat hated in 2016, but 2017 is just outright pure hate.”
It was indeed over for the league. During KD’s stint with the Warriors, the team advanced to the NBA Finals each season and ended up winning two pretty one-sided titles. It could have been three consecutive championships, but injury troubles ruined the Warriors’ 2019 NBA playoffs.
Moreover, Durant decided to leave the Warriors after the 2019 NBA Finals and join the Brooklyn Nets. That marked the end of arguably the best team ever assembled in the history of the league.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7-26Z4lgBU
