As one of the best basketball players in the world, Kevin Durant is pretty much impossible to stop when he’s in a groove. This season, we’re seeing that play out in Phoenix, where the Suns remain undefeated with him in the lineup.
Back in 2019, however, Durant was arguably even more amazing as he led the Golden State Warriors through the Western Conference playoffs. By the time he got to the Finals, the Raptors were dreading his return, and Pascal Siakam recently spoke about it with Durant’s former teammate, Draymond Green.
“It was always like a debate, was KD gonna play, whatever. We get there and it’s like, ‘yo he’s warming up’ and I was like, ‘bet, KD”s here he’s playing’ and in our heads, we think the momentum is with us. We get to that game and I don’t think he touched the rim one time. I’m just like, ‘yo this is gonna be a long night.’ If there was any panic… I think it would’ve been at that point. He’s really unguardable.”
"I don't think he touched the rim one time… he's really unguardable"
—@PSkills43 talks to @Money23Green about facing @KDTrey5 in the 2019 Finals pic.twitter.com/aQ42NON573
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) April 6, 2023
Durant suffered a tragic calf injury leading up to the Finals, so we never got to see that team at full strength in the series. He did return for Game 5, of course, and dropped 11 points on 60% shooting before tearing his Achilles early in the second quarter.
Would A Healthy Durant Have Changed The Outcome Of The 2019 Finals?
We will never know what would have happened had Durant and Klay Thompson (who also suffered a career-ending injury) managed to stay healthy for the game, and the rest of the series. As good as the Raptors were with Kawhi, Siakam, and Kyle Lowry, the Warriors were nearly unbeatable with KD and were coming off two straight championship runs.
“If you put an ‘if’ in front of anything, I can believe anything,” said Durant. “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.”
You can’t blame the Raptors for taking care of business and not giving the Warriors a chance to storm back in the series, but it’s really unfortunate we never got to see them do battle at full strength.
Today, Durant hasn’t lost a beat offensively and may end up in the Finals again with a Phoenix team tailored for immediate success.
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