Stephen Curry would arguably not have two of his four NBA championship rings without Kevin Durant. Yet, when the media talks about Durant’s legacy, there’s always an asterisk associated with him needing to join a superteam to win his championships. Meanwhile, Curry gets full credit for all his championships.
Gilbert Arenas, the former NBA player, recently spoke about this difference in public perception of the two stars during his own show, ‘Gil’s Arena.’
“When people talk about Stephen Curry’s legacy and KD’s legacy, it sounds like this. KD’s two championships: aww, he had to superteam up, those two rings, asterisks. Steph Curry, four-time champ. They don’t say two without him, they say all four.”
“You see how unfair that is? Think about it. I called you to come help me, meaning I know you are the difference maker. But I get credit for all four, and they’re questioning your two; that is horrible,” highlighted Arenas.
“If KD won his in OKC and had two Finals MVPs, he would’ve already been in the top 10 with his two championships. But if he joined a team, they’re using that against them, even if he’s the best player on that team.”
“You’ve got to remember, LeBron James was the best player in Miami; they called him for help,” said Arenas while comparing how James’ joining the Heat was no different from what Durant did.
“Even if he won one in Brooklyn, they would’ve already written it, yeah, he’s the man on this team, but he brought in who? A superteam with him,” said Arenas while emphasizing the media’s bias towards Durant.
Durant won his two NBA championships with the Warriors (2017 and 2018) and won the Finals MVP on both those occasions. Over the two appearances in the NBA Finals in 2017 and 2018, Durant averaged 32.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 6.3 assists while shooting 45.0% from three-point range. He was undoubtedly the best player on the floor for the Warriors whenever the team needed him the most.
While most people would think it is the Thunder fans who criticize Durant for leaving, the 37-year-old veteran also seems to believe that Warriors fans do not appreciate his contributions.
According to Durant, the Warriors fans are unsettled over the fact that he joined their team and won the two Finals MVP awards over their franchise player, Stephen Curry. The former All-Star, Arenas, is now highlighting how unfair it is for Durant to face permanent criticism for simply wanting to win.
In my opinion, the circumstances for LeBron James and Durant are different because the Cavaliers hadn’t just lost to the Heat in the playoffs a few weeks before James went to Miami. Meanwhile, Durant joining the Warriors, who had just beaten the Thunder, went against the spirit of true competition that fans love to see.
When it comes to the Curry and Durant comparison in this debate, the bias is simply, as Durant rightly pointed out, the favoritism for a locally grown franchise player over a superstar who joined the team later. A sad reality is that no matter how good Durant was on the floor, circumstances change public opinion drastically.
