Kevin Durant and Steph Curry played together on arguably the most talented team ever assembled for three seasons. The Golden State Warriors won two championships in that time, blowing past LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA finals on both occasions. Durant won Finals MVP both times but received a lot of criticism for joining a team that was already among the best ever.
Since KD left for the Nets, the idea has always been popular among some fans and the media is that he must prove that he can win a title without Curry and the Warriors. That obviously hasn’t happened in Brooklyn yet, but there is some debate on whether KD needs to win a title more or Curry does to prove that they don’t need a lopsided super team to win.
Stephen A. Smith has strong opinions on a variety of subjects and this debate is among them. Speaking on ESPN, he explained that in his opinion, it’s Durant that has more to prove than Curry.
Molly Qerim: “Stephen A., who would you say needs another title more, is it Kevin Durant or Steph Curry?”
Stephen A. Smith: “I think it’s KD. I think it’s KD in part because he left Golden State. I think it’s in part because he had to go to Golden State, because he couldn’t win a championship with Russell Westbrook. I also think it’s KD because of the choice he made to go to, which is Brooklyn and Kyrie.
You see when you look at Steph Curry… We can look at the injury to Draymond Green. We can look at Klay Thompson trying to get back to who he was. We can look at all those things… So because of all that, I think there is more pressure on KD to capture another title.”
The Warriors have enjoyed a significantly better season than the Nets but even they have recently fallen off, losing 5 of their last 6 games. The Nets find themselves in the play-in but have the ability to make noise in the playoffs if everything comes together. In any case, considering that Curry has consolidated himself as the greatest shooter ever this season and has a title to his name without KD, an argument could be made that it is Durant who needs to win another ring.
