Former Warriors Champ Spills On Pivotal Kevin Durant-Steph Curry Moment That Fueled Title Run

Kevin Durant took the entire basketball world by surprise when he decided to join the Golden State Warriors in 2016. At that point, Durant's former team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, was coming off a heartbreaking Western Conference Finals loss to the Dubs, who eventually lost in the Finals that year to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Not too many fans expected Durant to jump ship, and even fewer predicted that he would join the "enemy." Despite the unrelenting criticism, though, KD would go on to win two championships in his three years with Golden State.

Those titles did not come easy. In fact, it took a pivotal moment with Warriors cornerstone superstar Stephen Curry to fuel what was Golden State's first title run in 2016-17.

Former Golden State guard Shaun Livingston looked back at that crucial juncture in the season during a recent appearance on the "Knuckleheads" podcast . According to Livingston, both Curry and Durant had to make significant adjustments in order to make their superstar partnership work.

“So he took a step back and had to make the biggest adjustment , and I think that’s what KD was looking at, is Steph going to take that step back,” said Livingston (h/t Jackson Stone of ClutchPoints). “I’ve never seen someone score so efficiently as KD, like 30 on 12 shots. So when he came it wasn’t really an adjustment for him because he could get his in the flow like no one else I’ve ever seen.”

Livingston then recalled the exact moment that turned everything around for Durant, Curry, and the rest of the Dubs.

“Steph, his was a little bit more volume, he needed a little bit more rhythm," said Livingston. "Then after that Christmas game, there was internal conversation among them two, which it had to be. Like look, I need you to be Steph Curry, and then once Steph was like alright, KD’s good, he’s good with us, it was like unstoppable from there.”

The contest Livingston was referring to was Golden State's Christmas Day loss to the Cavs in Cleveland, which saw Kyrie Irving emerge as the hero after a buzzer-beating game-winner.

As Livingston said, though, the Warriors were an entirely different animal from that point, and they would eventually get their revenge on LeBron and Co. in the Finals that season via a 4-1 series win.

They did it again the following season to secure their third title in four years in what was a historic run for the dynasty Warriors.

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