"What are you going to do?"- JR Smith says the Cavaliers were stunned when the Warriors signed Kevin Durant in 2016
Kevin Durant formed a superteam with Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson in July 2016. Durant ironically signed with the Golden State Warriors, the team that beat his OKC Thunder during the 2016 Western Conference finals. KD's sudden move shocked the entire NBA, and he immediately became a polarizing figure.
Former Cleveland Cavaliers star J.R. Smith opened up about how he and his team reacted when Durant united with the Warriors. The moment Smith found out about Durant's signing, he knew that Golden State was bound to win it all.
"When that happened, everybody was pretty much playing for second," Smith said. "Don’t get me wrong, in the heat of the battle, we’re thinking we have a chance and we can win, but at the same time, it’s like, 'What the hell are we supposed to do?' You’ve got three Hall of Famers, legit."
Looking back at Kevin Durant's dominance with the Golden State Warriors
While super teams were technically built before the 2016-17 Golden State Warriors, Kevin Durant changed the landscape of forming an unbeatable squad.
Before Durant joined forces with the Warriors, Golden State had already championship contenders considering they won the NBA title in 2015 and reached the 2016 NBA Finals. So, everyone knew that the Warriors were surefire winners with Durant.
During KD's first season with the Warriors, he did it all on the court, averaging 25.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.1 steals per game. Durant also led the team to a rematch against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2017 NBA Finals. Ultimately, the Warriors won, awarding Kevin with the first ring of his career.
Golden State went back-to-back with KD still leading the charge in the 2018 NBA Finals. The only time the Warriors lost during the super team's run was when Durant was sidelined due with an Achilles tendon injury in the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors. Some say that Golden State would've won if Kevin had been in the lineup.