In one of the biggest free agency moves in NBA history, the Golden State Warriors acquired Kevin Durant in the summer of 2016. While the superstar forward boosted the Dubs' chances of winning the Larry O'Brien, it also meant that everyone had to adjust their games to make things work.
Durant had no issues fitting in with Golden State's motion-heavy team-first system. However, according to backup guard Shaun Livingston , Warriors star Stephen Curry , who was coming off winning a second straight MVP award, found it challenging to thrive playing alongside an equally prolific scorer who took more shots than him.
"I never seen anybody score so efficiently as KD, 30 on like 12 shots. When he came, it wasn't really an adjustment for him cuz he could get his in the flow like no one else I've ever seen. Steph, his was a little more volume, like he need a little bit more rhythm," Livingston said on the Knuckleheads podcast.
Steph couldn't get going
According to Shaun, deferring to KD wasn't a problem for Steph, who the retired guard described as the most humble superstar. However, while Curry was more than willing to give way to KD, he found it difficult to get going with a reduced number of shots.
After averaging 20.2 field goal attempts during the 2015-16 campaign, Steph took just 17.03 shots per game from October to December 2016. Curry averaged only 23.9 points on 46% shooting during those three months after averaging 30.1 points per contest on 50.4% from the field the season before.
Things culminated on Christmas day when Golden State lost to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-108. KD led the squad with 36 points on 11-for-23 from the field, while Curry only took 11 shots and finished the night with 15 points.
"After that Christmas game, I think there was an internal conversation amongst them two, which it had to be, 'Look, I need you to be Steph Curry,' and then once Steph was like, all right, you know KD good, he's good with us, it was like unstoppable from there," Livingston added.
Related: "History's going to say f**k you anyway" - Gilbert Arenas reckons LeBron, Steph, and Durant should join forces in the NBA
No stopping the Warriors
Once the two stars figured things out, there was no stopping the Warriors. They finished the season with the best record in the league (67-15), six games better than their closest rivals. Golden State swept its first three playoff series before dropping only one game to the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals rematch.
Meanwhile, Curry went from being MVP in 2016 to the All-NBA second team member that year. Although his averages plummeted to 25.3 points on 18.3 field goals per game, with the addition of Durant, they won their second championship and successfully erased the painful defeat in the 2016 NBA Finals.
KD helped the Warriors win a second straight championship in 2018. They could have won a third if it weren't for Durant's right calf injury in the second round of the postseason. The superstar forward tried to make a comeback in Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors but unfortunately suffered an Achilles tear that sidelined him for the entirety of the 2019-20 campaign.
After the "Slim Reaper" left Golden State and joined the Brooklyn Nets, Curry took back his place at the top of the food chain and led the Dubs to a fourth championship in 2022, finally winning Finals MVP honors for the first time in his career.
Related: Carmelo Anthony refuses to answer whether Steph is the GOAT PG or not: "Let's appreciate this window of what we have with Steph"
Local San Francisco, CA
Most Popular
Comments / 0