The Golden State Warriors and Kevin Durant were a match made in basketball heaven. They won two championships together and will forever be remembered as arguably the greatest basketball team of all time. However, narratives continue to swirl around this tenure.
Needless to say, the two parties benefitted from each other. The Warriors needed another star to regain momentum after their heartbreaking 3-1 Finals collapse in the 2016 NBA Finals. While Durant, who was longing for his first championship, ultimately found it with the Warriors.
Despite this mutual benefit, many fans still undervalue Durant’s role and impact with the Warriors, even suggesting that the team didn’t actually need him because of their success before and after him.
However, NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas doesn’t subscribe to this narrative and other negative depictions concerning Durant. He fully recognizes Durant’s impact in solidifying the Warriors’ legacy and even told Draymond Green that the Warriors would have been remembered differently if not for the two-time Finals MVP.
“You were up 3-1 and probably one of the biggest collapses in NBA Finals history,” Thomas told Green. “Kevin Durant comes that summer and really saves your basketball legacy; you win two championships after that. The Golden State Warriors dynasty that you’re going to go in the Hall of Fame for, everything else, it is cemented because if Durant doesn’t come that summer and you guys are remembered as the 73-9 team, all of your legacies are different.”
“If Durant don’t come that summer and you guys are remembered as the 73-9 team, all of your legacies are different”
—@IsiahThomas tells @Money23Green the impact @KDTrey5 had for the Warriors pic.twitter.com/pO8C1TpisU
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) March 12, 2024
