Kevin Durant has never been shy about his own basketball history, but his latest answer about the best teams he’s played on rubbed plenty of Warriors fans the wrong way.
In a recent interview with Speedy, Durant pointed to the Brooklyn Nets before the Golden State Warriors when discussing the strongest rosters of his career.
“Just looking at straight roster, I would say Brooklyn…I know people are gonna wanna say the Warriors but Klay and Draymond didn’t have the accolades at that time. They were like 1-time All-Stars,” Durant said.
He did later soften that thought by saying the Warriors probably had more talent, especially once DeMarcus Cousins joined the mix. But by then, the damage was done for a lot of fans who felt he was once again downplaying the team that won back-to-back titles with him and gave him NBA Finals MVP honors both times.
The reaction online was immediate. One Reddit user wrote, “In KD’s mind he basically joined the Sacramento Kings when he went to the Warriors lmao.”
Another added, “The team that won multiple chips without him was the best team he’s been on.”
What made the response sharper is that this isn’t the first time Durant has taken a swing at the Warriors in this kind of debate. When Stephen A. Smith compared Golden State to the now-Philadelphia 76ers, Durant pushed back hard.
“Ain’t close lmao. Joel, mvp recently.
Jaylen Brown, recent finals mvp, Tyrese Maxey, all star the last 3 years. We all know what bron does.
Klay Thompson, never a mvp candidate in nothing, 22ppg. Draymond, 14ppg 7 rebounds 6 assist, Steph a mvp just like Joel was.
I don’t get how the warriors team is better on paper,” Durant said.
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