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One of the biggest sliding-door moments in NBA history happened in 2019 when Kevin Durant left the Golden State Warriors for the Brooklyn Nets after tearing his Achilles and losing to the Toronto Raptors in the finals.
Wanda Durant, Kevin’s mother, revealed in the August 11 episode of the “Raising Fame” that if she had it her way, her son would not have left Stephen Curry. She was convinced Durant and the Warriors would have bounced back from the 2019 NBA Finals loss to the Toronto Raptors.
“Sonya, you and I, we were in the ticket together for a few years,” Wanda Durant told Sonya Curry, Steph’s mother, on the show. “I ain’t really want him to go either… Man, we would’ve had 20 rings by now. And it was about [eight] years ago. That’s how cold they were.”
Kevin Durant’s Best Years Are With the Warriors
Durant joined the Warriors in 2016 and immediately won two straight NBA rings and Finals MVP trophies.
But a tumultuous third season with the Warriors which boiled over in an on-court confrontation with the Warriors mercurial forward Draymond Green led to Durant’s exit.
The agonizing end of his brief stint in The Bay saw Durant suffering a devastating — a career-ending to some NBA players — injury.
Durant bounced back from his torn Achilles on an individual standpoint but he never enjoyed team success like he had in Golden State.
On the other hand, Curry and the Warriors also recovered from losing Durant, adding another NBA title in 2022. But over the last two seasons, they fell from title contender to a fringe play-in team.
As Curry and Durant’s careers are on their last legs, could Wanda’s revealing comment lead to a reunion?
Warriors Still Hoping for a Big Swing
The Warriors have never shied from taking a big swing since Durant left.
They traded for Andrew Wiggins who played a pivotal role in their 2022 title run. And as their championship window is rapidly closing, the Warriors are again aggressive in the trade market.
They swung for the fences but missed on LeBron James at the trade deadline, Paul George before the free agency, and Lauri Markkanen before his extension.
“You know me, and our fans I hope you know me and us, not just me, we have a culture that is very aggressive,” Lacob told The Athletic on Feb. 15. “We’re always going to try to be aggressive, we’re going to try to put the best team on the court, and if it costs a lot of money, it’s going to cost a lot of money.
We’re willing to invest, everyone knows that. We do those things hopefully at the right time, not the wrong time. And we’re going to look at everything. When we acquired Kevin Durant many years ago, that was an incredibly aggressive move that we made where I think half our roster went away to accomplish that. Even though we had a really good team, we felt we could be better, and we did. We went to three finals — should’ve won all three, we did win two.”
The Phoenix Suns have been adamant about keeping Durant. But if things change, as it does often in the NBA, expect the Warriors to be in front of the line to try to reunite Durant and Curry for one last time.
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