When Kawhi Leonard shockingly left the San Antonio Spurs in the summer of 2018 to join the Toronto Raptors after disagreements with the Spurs’ medical staff, nobody thought the Raptors could immediately become contenders that season. Even though the team had proven playoff experience with guys like Kyle Lowry, Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol, plus up-and-coming young stars Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam, many believed Leonard’s injuries meant this team simply couldn’t go all the way.
On the other side of the coast, the Golden State Warriors were preparing to chase a three-peat, led by Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry. After convincingly beating the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Finals two years in a row, everything seemed set for another easy run to the Larry O’Brien trophy. With a 57–25 record, they secured the No. 1 seed in the West and entered the playoffs riding Durant’s unbelievable form.
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Despite the Los Angeles Clippers surprisingly pushing them to six games, Durant looked unstoppable, averaging 35.0 points on 56.7 percent shooting, 40.0 percent from three and 94.9 percent from the line. He continued the same against the Houston Rockets, who also went down in six games, while KD averaged 33.2 points. But Durant got injured in Game 5 against them and it wasn’t clear if he’d return during the postseason.
Kerr decided to bring Durant back for Game 5
Even without him, the Warriors swept the Portland Trail Blazers 4–0 in the Conference finals. But Durant still couldn’t make it back, and when the Warriors fell behind 3–1 in the Finals, Steve Kerr decided to bring him back for Game 5.
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Ibaka, who had seen firsthand what Durant was capable of during their days together in Oklahoma City, recalled on the “Hello and Welcome” podcast the moment they heard Durant was coming back for Game 5.
“I’m like, ‘Kevin, man. Come on.’ That’s the only time I already felt like I felt you know, I like to have the pressure. It’s good for myself, but that was not really pressure. It was like, ‘Dang,’ I didn’t know what to think during that moment. That’s Kevin D, man, Easy Money. He’s a killer. When they told us Kevin is coming back, because we were scouting the game. In the morning we came and the coaches started talking and then they say, ‘Okay, KD might play.’ I was like, ‘Oh, bro, come on.’ Let me win at least one, I need that. When we heard that, my mind just went crazy,” Ibaka recalled.
Ibaka had every reason to be afraid
And Ibaka had every reason to be afraid. Durant looked like he had never even been injured, let alone missed nine straight games.
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He started off hitting his first three shots, including two from deep, but then the worst happened. Because he came back earlier than he should have, his Achilles tendon gave out, and he was done for the series.
It turned out those were also his final moments in a Warriors jersey. Although the Warriors narrowly won that game 106–105, in Game 6 they also lost Klay Thompson, who tore the ACL in his left knee. With both stars out, the Warriors stood no chance against Leonard, who was also playing in unbelievable form, and eventually fell 4–2.
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Many were critical of Kerr for bringing Durant back when there were already concerns that the injury could get worse in a game of that intensity. But in the end, it wasn’t entirely up to Kerr — down 3–1 in the series, KD had only one thing on his mind, which he later reflected on.
“Leading up to it, I felt fine, man. I felt perfectly normal. I felt like everything was… I think we were going to win the Finals. I think we were going to come back down 3-1 and win that joint, go ‘three-peat.’ That was the main goal — a three-peat. Like, the team hadn’t done that since the Lakers. I’m like, we need to do that,” Durant said.
From hero to zero in a second
It’s easy to understand Durant’s perspective. He’s an old-school mentality guy who grew up idolizing Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. If he had managed to win the three-peat and a third straight Finals MVP like his idols, it would have automatically pushed him into the GOAT conversations.
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Durant was in his prime, playing the best basketball of his life, and Ibaka’s words about the fear he felt when KD was coming back only confirm the magnitude of his greatness.
But instead, it went from hero to zero in a second.
After that season, Durant felt the need to prove to everyone he could win without Curry, and since then, he hasn’t made another NBA Finals despite some incredible playoff runs. The feeling today is that if he had stayed with the Warriors, people might be talking about him as maybe the greatest ever, because it’s hard to imagine anyone beating that core of Steph, KD, Klay and Draymond Green with Kerr on the bench, especially since the Warriors kept dominating even after Durant’s departure.
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This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 23, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.