August 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\nWhen Durant signed with the Warriors as a free agent in the summer of 2016, Curry was the reigning two-time MVP, and Golden State was coming off a record-setting regular season that ended in a historic NBA Finals loss to James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.<\/p>\n
Thompson, then 26, had made two of his eventual five All-Star appearances and was a two-time All-NBA third team selection. Green, also then 26, had made one of his eventual four All-Star selections and one of his two career All-NBA selections. He had yet to be named NBA Defensive Player of the Year, which he was in 2016-17, his first season with Durant. The Warriors had also won the 2015 NBA title and still had that series MVP, Andre Iguodala, on their roster.<\/p>\n
The Nets team that circled Durant in 2020-21, by contrast, was filled with established stars, though many were already past the primes of their award-laden careers.<\/p>\n
Still, that didn\u2019t keep Durant from naming Blake Griffin (31 at the time), LaMarcus Aldridge (35), Paul Millsap (36) and Patty Mills (32) as examples of the Nets\u2019 superior star power. Harden was 31 and two seasons removed from being named league MVP, but averaged 34.3 points a game the prior season. Irving was 27 and still in his prime. DeAndre Jordan (30) was not named by Durant but was also a former All-Star on that team.<\/p>\n
All told, those players have combined for 38 career All-Star selections and 21 combined All-NBA team selections, excluding Durant. But many of those honors were already behind them. Harden has made only two All-Star teams since, while Irving has also made two after that season. Aldridge and Millsap played just one more season in the league, while Griffin played just two.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you just look at, just putting accolades on the table, I would say that team,\u201d Durant said.<\/p>\n
The 2020-21 Nets went 48-24 and finished second in the Eastern Conference. Durant willed the team to Game 7 of the second round of the playoffs against the Milwaukee Bucks. Harden and Irving both missed significant portions of that series due to injuries, with the former hobbling on a hamstring strain for the decisive game and the latter unavailable after suffering a severe ankle sprain in Game 4. Durant famously had a toe on the line for what would\u2019ve been a series-winning 3-pointer in Game 7, but the 2-point shot instead forced overtime, and the Nets lost 115-111.<\/p>\n
Harden was traded to Philadelphia in February of the next season, and in the end, the trio of Harden, Durant and Irving played just 16 regular-season games together.<\/p>\n
The Warriors went 67-15 and won the NBA Finals in Durant\u2019s first season in the Bay Area. During his three seasons with the Warriors, Golden State averaged 60 wins a year and made three consecutive Finals appearances, winning the first two. The Warriors also tacked on another championship in 2022 while Durant was in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n
In search of a three-peat ahead of the 2018-19 season, the Warriors added DeMarcus Cousins, a former All-NBA center. Cousins, then 27, was coming off an Achilles tear and had already made all four of his career All-Star appearances. While injuries riddled Cousins\u2019 38-game tenure, the pure name value of a lineup featuring Curry, Thompson, Durant, Green and Cousins was enough for Durant to revise his earlier sentiment when reminded later in the podcast.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, obviously the best team I played on was the Warriors, the 2019 team was crazy,\u201d the 2014 NBA MVP said. \u201cBut we got hurt. With Cousins at the five, that\u2019s probably the best team that I\u2019ve been a part of. I forgot about (Cousins). I didn\u2019t play with (Cousins) a lot that year, cause he had got hurt. But when you look at that on paper, it\u2019s probably that, yeah.\u201d<\/p>\n
But only that Warriors team, in Durant\u2019s estimation. Not the one he signed with as a free agent in 2016. The team that was ascending.<\/p>\n
Even though Durant won two in the Bay, he made clear he really wanted one in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Brooklyn team is a close second,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026 It\u2019d have been so dope just seeing (a championship parade) in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey would\u2019ve been hating on (us) so crazy in New York\u2026 The parade for real. That\u2019s what I think about with that team. All black, all our fans would have been in all black. That\u2019s the only thing I think about.\u201d<\/p>\n