“The KD era, the toughest Warriors team” – Paul George equates Miami Heat superteam to 2017 NBA championship team
During the early 2010's, the Miami Heat are credited with starting the superteam era of the NBA. They already had a superstar in Dwyane Wade, and paired with him elite talents in LeBron James and Chris Bosh.
The LeBron James Miami Heat had a successful run, making the NBA Finals in each of their four seasons together. In that time, they brought home back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013.
During a recent episode of his podcast, LA Clippers star Paul George opened up on some of the toughest teams he played against. He knew that Heat team all too well from his time with the Indiana Pacers, but gave a slight edge to the Kevin Durant Golden State Warriors.
"The KD era, that is by far the toughest Warriors team."
"That team is up there for the best team that I've played. That's got to be 1A-1B with the Miami Heat team."
"The [Kevin Durant] era, that is by far the toughest Warriors team. That team is up there for the best team that I've played."
—Paul George
(via @PodcastPShow)
https://t.co/v04gl3kFUb
Were the LeBron James Miami Heat better than the Kevin Durant Golden State Warriors?
Both squads were amazing and filled with Hall of Fame talent, but a slight edge should go to the Golden State Warriors. Their run may have been shorter, but there is no denying they were the more dominant team.
The LeBron James Miami Heat had a lot of talent, but not to the degree of the KD-era Warriors. That team had four All-Star-level players that were all in the prime of their career. Another "Heatles" team could form at some point, but we will likely never see another pairing of talent that what the Golden State Warriors for that small run.
Part of what puts the Warriors over the top was how seamless the group was able to come together. Despite Kevin Durant and Steph Curry being two of the top five players in the league, they were able to make it work at a high level from day one. Steve Kerr deserves a lot of credit for this as he created a flawless system that allowed them all to succeed.
When LeBron first signed with Miami, there were growing pains. He and Dwyane Wade had to figure out how to play with one another, and Chris Bosh had to accept taking a backseat to the two of them. This took time and cost them a title in 2011 when they lost to the Dallas Mavericks.
At the end of the day, Paul George put it best. Both teams were incredibly elite and belong in the same tier.