“All the respect in the world to how great all-time, great scorer he is” - Steph Curry talks about playing with Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant was brought up in the Tuesday episode of "Knuckleheads" on Spotify. The podcast features Steph Curry discussing his NBA legacy and commenting on his time playing with Kevin Durant in the process:
“All the respect in the world to how great all-time, great scorer he is, like he gets in in every and any type of way.”
Kevin Durant's time playing with Steph Curry
Kevin Durant signed with Golden State on July 7 during the 2016 free agency with a two-year $54.3 million contract with a player option after the first year.
The Warriors made the NBA Finals that season after finishing the regular season with a record of 67-15. In the 2017 NBA Finals, Durant was Golden State's top scorer in every game, averaging 35.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 5.4 assists. He shot 55.5 percent from the field, 47.4 percent from 3-point range and 92.7 percent from the free throw line. In the process Durant won his first Finals MVP award.
Steph Curry talked about how special it was to practice with Durant:
“The best part about it was practice, because me, him and Klay, like, trying to work on our craft. Sometimes we worked together, sometimes we’d be on our separate courts, but we always be watching each other. We always be like trying to, like, one up, level up, the intensity level up, the approach to the game.
"And that’s such a dope environment to come to work to everyday.”
Durant continued to deliver in 2017-18. The Warriors ended the season with 58 wins and swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Finals. Durant averaged 28.8 points, 10.8 rebounds and 7.5 assists and won his second Finals MVP award.
After re-signing with the Warriors on July 7, 2018, KD went on to have another great season alongside Steph Curry. He and the Chef were cooking up their three-peat chase when KD dropped a playoff career-high 45 points in a 129-121 loss to the LA Clippers. The following game, Durant set a new high, scoring 50 points in a 123-110 win to close the series.
After injuring his right calf against the Houston Rockets, KD was sidelined for nine games until meeting the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 NBA Finals.
Durant returned in Game 5 of the Finals against Toronto and scored 11 points in the first quarter. KD then suffered an Achilles tendon injury no more than two minutes into the second. The Warriors lost to the Raptors in Game 6, ending their search for a three-peat. Also coming to an end was the Curry-KD era, as Durant moved on to the Brooklyn Nets.
In reaping such success together, it only makes sense why Curry only has nice things to say about his past teammate.
Durant is averaging 29.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game this season. The Nets just got Seth Curry, Ben Simmons and Andre Drummond, so things might heat up from there.
Steph Curry said the work KD put in “elevated all of (them).”
Being able to see such greatness accent an already legendary team must have been something else. Curry commented on the specialties of Durant and how seeing it in person was “just something else.”
If Durant can continue with his clutch greatness, the new additions in Brooklyn may bring a new problem into the Eastern Conference. The Nets snapped an 11-game losing streak Monday night with a 109-85 blowout win against the Sacramento Kings.
As Curry said, KD “gets it in every, any type of way.”
Durant has been sidelined with an MCL sprain but is expected to return after the All-Star break. If the Nets can snap out of their recent funk, maybe we will get to see Steph Curry and Kevin Durant face off in the Finals.