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On June 2, the Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics will square off in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. For Golden State, this series has a bit of a deeper meaning than before. For one, it is their first time returning to the Finals without Kevin Durant since 2016. And it also means that their superstar Stephen Curry will get another crack at securing the Finals Most Valuable Player award that has eluded him five times in his career.
Durant won the Finals Most Valuable Player award when he was with the franchise in 2017 and 2018. But Warriors forward Draymond Green believes that KD benefitted greatly in those series from the double-teams that Curry saw from the Cleveland Cavaliers defense.
“Kevin Durant was incredible in those Finals runs. Steph Curry got double-teamed probably seven times the amount that KD did in a given series. So, when you watch those games, and you say, ‘Ah, [Curry’s] numbers could be a little down,’ he’s facing a double team,” Green said to NBA analyst Colin Cowherd during a recent taping of the “Draymond Green Show”.
“The impact he [Steph Curry] has on a game, if you don’t understand basketball, you’re going to say he needs a Finals MVP to validate who he is.”
“They need those shiny objects for them to be able to analyze what’s going on… Steph Curry got double teamed 7X the amount KD did…the impact he has on a game, if you don’t understand basketball, you’re going to say he needs a FMVP to validate who he is.” – Dray on Steph/FMVP
Durant, a frequent Twitter user, caught wind of Green’s comments about the attention the Curry drew from the Cavs during those Finals series. The Nets star was not in agreement with him.
“From my view of it, this is 100% false,” Durant said per his Twitter account on May 31.
From my view of it, this is 100% false…
Draymond also responded to Durant, imploring him to listen to the entire interview.
“You have to learn to listen to full takes and not snippets before you get baited into tweeting Champ,” Green said on Twitter.
Durant then responded: “Oh I seen it, my brethren, I appreciate the compliments, but I disagree with what u said about double teams that’s all. I love the show.”
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Green Felt 2017 Finals Win Made Durant ‘Best in the World’
Despite their past differences, Green has a lot of respect for Durant as a basketball player. In a 2020 interview on Showtime’s “All the Smoke”, the three-time NBA champion talked about KD’s performance in the 2017 NBA Finals. Green felt the result should have been Durant being considered the best basketball player in the world over LeBron James.
“We win a championship, Kevin wins Finals MVP. He f***** in my opinion, he got the best of Bron that series, like Kevin, was f***** rocking’…. And after that, it was kind of that moment of like ‘Damn Kevin should be the best player in the NBA now because of what he just did to LeBron,” Green said.
Kevin Durant: I’ll Always Be a Warrior
Despite a rocky exit from the Bay Area in 2019, Durant insists that there is no bad blood between him and his former Warrior teammates. In an interview with Kerith Burke of “NBC Sports Bay Area”, Durant spoke on the relationships that he has kept with his former Warrior teammates since his exit.
“It’s good to see from afar that everyone’s doing well and realize that these bonds we created will never be broken,” Durant told Burke in 2021. “No matter what jerseys we put on, no matter what part of the country we all live in…. I’m very grateful for my time in the Bay Area, and I’ll always be a Warrior in my heart.”
Durant made the tough decision to move on from the Warriors and is now looking to recreate that same success with the Nets. Golden State, on the other hand, is four wins away from getting back to the mountaintop. One thing that is certain, watching KD, Green, Curry, and Klay Thompson together was a moment in time that will never be duplicated.
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