The inclusion of Kevin Durant to the Golden State Warriors for the 2016/17 season made the franchise the team to beat. However, the Dubs faced humiliation on Christmas Day against their then-archrivals, the Cleveland Cavaliers. More than seven years after the loss, Draymond Green recently reflected on the instance and revealed how he ensured the Warriors won the 2017 NBA championship.
In the last episode of Draymond’s green show, The 34-year-old recalled the shortcomings of the squad at the time. The team failed to properly incorporate Durant into their game for Christmas, as the opposition benefited from it. Consequently, the Cavs earned a 109-108 home victory, causing even more misery for the Dubs.
The loss marked a turning point in the season for the Warriors, as KD candidly expressed his thoughts to Stephen Curry. As Green recalled, “I remember after the game Kevin told Steph, ‘You don’t have to worry about me… I’m going to be fine.’ I’m going to score basketball. Do what everyone does… That opened Steph up. That opened Kevin up. We beat them two weeks later by 50 points”.
Durant’s ability to understand how the spotlight on him was resulting in a decline in his production remains exemplary. Therefore, his display of self-belief certainly injected confidence into Curry and the rest of the squad as the team’s flow improved dramatically. Soon, this sparked a series of record-breaking performances that would make this team a contender for the strongest NBA team of all time.
How Kevin Durant changed the destiny of the Golden State Warriors
The above conversation certainly sparked a turnaround, as the Bay Area organization ultimately led the Western Conference with a 67-15 record. Each of the big three, Curry, Durant and Klay Thompson, recorded more than 20 points per game in the regular season.
KD’s defensive game also saw a major improvement, as he posted a career-high 1.6 blocks and 8.3 rebounds per game, according to ESPN.
Shortly after, they swept every conference playoff game to once again face the Cavs in the NBA Finals. At the time, the Warriors seemed unstoppable as Durant led the charge to secure a 4-1 series victory and, in the process, win the Finals MVP award.
The franchise also set an NBA record for best postseason streak in history at 16-1.
Therefore, the team only grew from its loss in Cleveland. He showed his competitive mentality and at the same time set benchmarks for the rest of the league. That’s why, to this day, the 2016/17 Warriors remain one of the model teams in NBA history.
