Kevin Durant has been part of plenty of loaded NBA rosters, and when he was asked to name the best team he ever played on “on paper,” he didn’t hesitate to start with Golden State.
Durant picked the 2018-19 Warriors, a group headlined by Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and DeMarcus Cousins. But he also gave a strong nod to one of his Brooklyn groups, calling the 2021-22 Nets a close second.
That Nets roster came with plenty of star power. Durant pointed to Blake Griffin, LaMarcus Aldridge, Paul Millsap and Patty Mills, along with Kyrie Irving and James Harden.
Irving and Harden were still elite the season before, but their 2021-22 versions told a different story. Harden’s production dropped off noticeably, and Irving appeared in only 29 games.
The supporting cast also carried plenty of name value, but several of those veterans were deep into the later stages of their careers and arrived with championship expectations. On paper, that made the 2021-22 group look formidable. In practice, the 2020-21 Nets were the cleaner fit.
That earlier Brooklyn team had Irving at a level few players ever reach, with the guard becoming one of the rare players to average at least 25 points per game on 50/40/90 shooting splits. Harden settled into the role of table-setter, bringing out the best in the role players around him, while Durant was viewed as the best player in the world when healthy.
Blake Griffin also found his lane with that group, becoming a glue guy on both ends. Jeff Green fit neatly into an off-ball role, whether he was drilling 3s or slicing to the basket.
Even with all that talent, the 2021-22 Nets still had major hurdles. They might have been good enough to win it all if Irving had been eligible every night and Harden had stayed committed, but with Green gone and Joe Harris missing much of the season, the path to a title would have been difficult.
The Brooklyn years remain one of the biggest what-ifs in recent NBA memory, and Durant’s comments only reinforce that feeling. Even now, it’s obvious he still carries the sting of never bringing a championship to Brooklyn.
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