The Kevin Durant era was pure dominance for the Golden State Warriors, but there was also a lot of drama mixed in. In an appearance on the “Gil’s Arena” podcast, former NBA veteran Nick Young got real on some of the internal chaos for the Warriors and revealed the time that Stephen Curry almost cried before losing the FInals MVP to Kevin Durant in 2018.
“I remember they were neck and neck — KD and Steph. And then Steph had one bad game and Durant was hitting,” said Young. “In the locker room, Steph’s head was down and damn near tears, after a win. He wanted to win that b*tch. Durant was trying to give it to him because he won the year before but Steph couldn’t make a shot. It was the lowest he scored in the Finals.”
Kevin Durant, a 14x All-Star, joined the Warriors in 2016 after leaving behind the Oklahoma City Thunder. His arrival marked the start of a dominant run for the franchise and his time with 36-year-old Stephen Curry is still considered one of the best two-man games in the league.
The 2018 NBA Finals was not known for being particularly competitive. It was the Warriors’ second year together and they matched up against a LeBron James-led Cavaliers team that was hopelessly outmatched. The series was a 4-0 sweep in favor of the Warriors with an average score margin of 15 points over the four games. Durant received 7 MVP votes while Steph only received 4.
Initially, Curry and Durant were neck-and-neck for Finals MVP through the first two games but things changed for the final two games. The 6’2″ point guard scored just 11 points in Game 3 and had a pretty rough performance that allowed the Cavaliers to make things interesting down the stretch. Were it not for Kevin Durant dropping 43 points, the Warriors might have lost that pivotal game in Cleveland.
Curry did eventually respond with 37 points in Game 4, it wasn’t enough to earn him Final MVP honors. It wouldn’t be until 2022 that he’d finally take home the trophy for himself after winning his fourth championship.
While Steph and Durant never expressed any resentment toward each other, their partnership only lasted three years and it’s not hard to see why. The Warriors were and always will be Stephen Curry’s team and Durant’s arrival created a power struggle that made things awkward for everyone.
Durant left a year later after losing in the Finals but his run with Curry will always be mentioned in the NBA history books. They dominated at a scale rarely seen before and it was truly uncharted territory as two apex superstars at the peak of their powers.
We may never see that level of dominance again, but it was probably better for Curry that he’s the lone alpha dog now. As a living basketball legend, he’s able to play with the ultimate freedom now and no longer has to worry about competing with accolades against members of his own team.
There is some talk about Durant potentially coming back to the Warriors one day, but a move that big will need Steph’s approval and it remains to be seen if he’d sign on for that experience again.
