“Who was the one they flew across the country to recruit?… Because they crumbled with Steph as the head of their snake” - Skip Bayless says Kevin Durant was by far the best player on the Warriors
Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant has been criticized for leaving the Golden State Warriors to join the Nets. The scrutiny has grown stronger with the performances of the two teams this season.
However, on "Skip and Shannon: Undisputed," Skip Bayless reiterated that Kevin Durant was the best player on the Warriors team when he played for them. Draymond Green recently claimed that Steph Curry was doubled far more than Durant during those years. Bayless said:
"I'm 100% behind KD's 100%. I don't remember every time Steph getting blitzed and KD just all alone saying I'll shoot this because I'm uncontested, I'm unguarded over here, I don't remember that happening.
"Who was the best player on the floor, who was the one they flew across the country to recruit because they had to have him because they crumbled with Steph as the head of their snake in 2016?"
Draymond Green and Kevin Durant recently got in a tussle on Twitter when Green commented that Curry attracted more double-teams than Durant. Durant unequivocally thought Green's assertion was wrong.
Draymond says Steph never won a Finals MVP because he was double-teamed more than KD:
"I'm 100% behind KD. I don't remember Steph getting blitzed and KD uncontested. Who was the guy they recruited because they crumbled with Steph as the head of their snake?" — @RealSkipBayless https://t.co/QqPzcg4a8O
Were the Warriors Kevin Durant's team?
The Chicago Bulls were Michael Jordan's team and the Cleveland Cavaliers were LeBron James' team. However, the Golden State Warriors were not Kevin Durant's team because of the existence of Steph Curry.
Kevin Durant joined the Warriors in the summer of 2016. His arrival came after an OKC Thunder team led by KD and Russell Westbrook succumbed to a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference finals against Curry and company.
However, the Warriors did the same in the NBA Finals to LeBron James and company. The franchise and the player decided to team up in the summer.
The "Slim Reaper" was the best player on the team, with no questions asked. He won the Finals MVP twice in back-to-back seasons: 2017 and 2018. With him, it is common knowledge that they would have beaten the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 NBA Finals, but the forward suffered an Achilles injury.
Kevin Durant won NBA Finals MVPs with the Warriors in 2017 and 2018, becoming the 6th player to win the award in back-to-back seasons (LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon).
KD faces his former team TOMORROW at 7pm/et on TNT. #KiaTipOff20 https://t.co/E63BfNPqaW
The Golden State Warriors will always be Steph Curry's team. The franchise was seemingly headed nowhere when they drafted the guard in 2009 with their seventh overall pick. They have since had their fortunes changed.
They assembled one of the greatest dynasties in the history of the league by drafting Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
Also, the Warriors and Curry won a championship without KD and have reached yet another final with Durant. These facts just add to the case of the franchise being Steph Curry's team rather than Durant during the three years the "Slim Reaper" played for them.