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As a part of the Golden State Warriors, Kevin Durant’s three seasons spent on the roster earned his two NBA Championships. Alongside him during these three seasons were All-Stars Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and 2017 Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green. Playing alongside these three proved to be valuable to Durant according to Green.
Green Talks About How Durant Changed
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In an interview after the Warriors’ 134-117 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday, Green opened up about how Durant has changed since being his teammate, per the Warriors’ SoundCloud.
“You can even hear him talking out there on the floor and the things that he’s telling them to do. It’s kind of a completely different perspective than before he came here. And I think his time here definitely helped him grow as a basketball player. Obviously, it helped us grow as a team. But you can definitely see and feel the difference. Whereas you would see him before and everything was kind of attack, attack, attack. It’s not that anymore. And so it’s you can definitely see, tell, feel, hear the difference.”
Durant is obviously one of the best players of his caliber that the NBA has ever seen. He possesses the ability to transform a game due to his offensive mindset according to Green. His ability to do this has elevated his game from an offensive standpoint, which allows him to play harmoniously with teammates Kyrie Irving and James Harden.
Durant went to the Brooklyn Nets intending to acquire another championship. In Golden State, he was able to shape the culture in order for the Warriors to come out triumphant, and he hopes to do the same in Brooklyn.
Green Discusses What He Learned from KD
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According to Green, playing with Durant and playing against him isn’t that much different. After the game Saturday, Green shared what he learned from being on both sides with Durant, per Mark Medina’s Twitter.
“Just how no one in the world can stop him. And even after playing tonight, I still don’t think anyone in the world can stop him, said Green.
In his first game on an active roster back in Golden State since he left, Durant and the Nets blew out his former team for the second time this season. KD finished with 20 points in addition to five rebounds and six assists.
Although the team wasn’t heavily reliant on his performance, the Nets led against the Warriors from start to finish. Green defended his former teammate throughout the game and was even able to admit that guarding KD isn’t quite so easy.
Durant left the Warriors after suffering an Achilles injury during the 2019 NBA Finals. This caused him to be out for the entirety of last season, however, he is playing like he was never injured. Green and Durant did not have that great of a relationship in Golden State which some believe was part of the reason that Durant left.
Amidst the Nets facing off against some pretty competitive teams, Durant hopes that the offensive mindset that he took with him from Golden State can help the Nets win it all. Although it is unsure if Green and Durant are on good terms now, Green gave praise where he saw fit.
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