Getty Images Stephen Curry and Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors celebrate with Kevin Durant.
Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry will long be remembered as one of the greatest duos of all time. Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder to join the Warriors in 2016. Together he and Curry went to three NBA Finals and won two titles, Durant winning the Finals Most Valuable Player award both times.
Though Durant did win both Finals MVPs, Curry knows that the Warriors don’t defeat the Cavaliers in 2017 and 2018 without his impact.
“It bothered me that I had to answer to it. It didn’t bother me that it wasn’t on my résumé yet,” Curry said via Michael Rosenberg of Sports Illustrated. “We don’t win those championships unless I’m playing at the highest level. But also: Andre, KD, they deserved the award because of how they played.”
There will forever be a “what if “ factor on Durant’s departure from the Warriors for the Nets in 2019 and how many titles Golden State would have won if he stayed. But the greatness of Curry and Durant as a duo is something that can never be questioned.
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Durant Praises Curry’s Game 4 Performance
Though Curry’s entire performance in the NBA Finals was remarkable, his outing in Game 4 swung the series. Trying to avoid going down 3-1 to the Boston Celtics, Curry netted a 43-point, 10-rebound masterpiece on the road at TD Garden to tie the series at 2-2. It was one of the greatest performances of all time, Durant said on the June 24 episode of his podcast, “The ETCs.”
“The Game 4 was iconic to me. It’s like much more than just the win. That game right there was like, ‘All right, this is one of the greatest we’ve ever seen,” he said.
“In that environment, the shots he was making … the rebounds, though. It was the rebounds for me; playing with Steph, that’s how I know he’s super, super engaged when he’s on the boards heavy. Coming over somebody’s back grabbing an [offensive rebound], it’s just like, yo, he wants this.”
“That game right there was like, all right, like, this is one of the greatest we’ve ever seen.”
Kevin Durant on Steph Curry’s Game 4 performance 💯
Durant, Warriors Briefly Discussed Reunion
For those who may be tardy to the party, Durant requested a trade from the Nets on June 30. After a standoff that lasted nearly the entire summer, Durant rescinded his trade request as he and the Nets agreed to move forward with their partnership. But During the trade talks, reporter Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic said that KD and his former teammates in Golden State had preliminary discussions about a potential reunion.
“The Warriors superstars have been in conversations with Durant. In addition to catching up, the Hall of Fame-bound peers did entertain the idea of a reunion,” Thompson writes.
“It was mostly about the stunning nature of it even being possible. The idea of them playing together again had to seem impossible when Durant left in free agency in 2019. It isn’t lost on them how life has contrived an opportunity for them to come full circle. They see it, like everyone else, and talked about it, like everyone else.”
The storied history of Durant and Curry is still being written.