Both Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors upset a lot of people when they announced in July 2016 that Durant had signed with the franchise. The Warriors had come this close to winning back-to-back titles without the superstar, and Durant’s Oklahoma City Thunder had come this close to knocking off Golden State. It seemed like a weak move on both sides.
After the transaction, Warriors owner Joe Lacob says he sensed hostility from his fellow owners. Lacob recounted the experience in an interview with Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.
“That owners meeting, the July after we got Kevin, was a difficult one,” Lacob told Shelburne. “I felt really personally persecuted by the other owners.”
The owners were certainly upset because they felt Golden State was throwing off the league’s parity. That may seem valid, but it has not exactly been true.
Yes, the Warriors have won both championships since signing Durant, but the league has been hyper-competitive. And yes, Golden State won last year’s Finals in five games and this year’s in four, but both championship rounds were tightly contested series. A few minor plays could have dramatically changed the outcome of the 2018 Finals.
Durant’s Dominance
Durant claimed both Finals MVP awards. In this year’s Finals, he averaged 28.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 7.5 assists, and 2.3 blocks per game. He just seems to elevate his game whenever he has the opportunity to go head-to-head with LeBron James.
Steph Curry was the odds-on favorite, per BetDSI Sportsbook, to win Finals MVP after two games. Durant, however, took over in Game 3.
Kevin Durant's deep Game 3 triple headlines the TOP 10 PLAYS of the #NBAFInals pic.twitter.com/Uit9gQBdkI
— NBA (@NBA) June 9, 2018
He played arguably the best game of his NBA career. He was a +15, scoring 43 points, grabbing 13 rebounds, and dishing out seven assists. Most importantly, he hit a dagger 33-footer in the final minute to seal the win for Golden State. The shot took the life out of Quicken Loans Arena.
