Kevin Durant choosing to sign with the Golden State Warriors in free agency in the summer of 2016 was a moment that sparked endless arguments about ring chasing, Durant’s personal legacy, and the Warriors’ place among the all-time great teams in NBA history.
Few outside the Bay area think of that move fondly, as evidenced by the replies to pretty much any social media post by KD where someone inevitably responds that he ruined basketball by joining the Warriors. Isiah Thomas is not one of those people, however, as he has a different perspective from the outside looking in on what Durant did for the Warriors. The Hall of Famer joined The Draymond Green Show this week and offered up a “bold statement” in which he explained to Green why he felt Durant “saved the Warriors basketball legacy.”
“If Durant don’t come that summer and you guys are remembered as the 73-9 team, all of your legacies are different”
—@IsiahThomas tells @Money23Green the impact @KDTrey5 had for the Warriors pic.twitter.com/pO8C1TpisU
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) March 12, 2024
As Thomas explained, the Warriors had a chance to simply be known as the team that went 73-9 and blew a 3-1 lead in the Finals. That is now only considered their legacy by those in the greater Cleveland area thanks to Durant coming in and helping lift them to two more titles.
Had the Warriors never gotten back over the hump to win another ring that loss to the Cavs would undoubtedly be what they were remembered for. At the same time, they were still an extremely good team and did win one in 2022 without Durant, so it stands to reason that they could very well have righted that wrong of 2016 on their own (which, for many was the frustration with them signing KD in the first place).
They never gave themselves that chance though, and Thomas is right that Durant played a considerable role in salvaging a dynasty-type run for those two years (and then almost a third before injuries derailed them in the Finals). I’m sure the Warriors don’t particularly like this theory from Thomas that Durant “saved” them, but that’s the trade-off to signing another MVP caliber player coming off of the way they lost the 2016 Finals.