The Golden State Warriors captured their fourth championship in eight years after beating the Boston Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals in six games.
This championship defined the Warriors role in NBA history as a true dynasty built from the ground up by general manager Bob Myers.
Parts have changed within the Warriors, but their core of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson along with the coaching of Steve Kerr has remained a constant.
Green discussed the Warriors dynasty on his joint podcast along with JJ Redick’s “The Old Man & the Three” podcast, and got honest about his team over the years.
He detailed that he believes that the team would not have won another championship without acquiring Kevin Durant, who played for the Warriors between 2016-2019.
“I don’t think the outside world gave Kevin (Durant) enough credit. Within our organization, Kevin was given all the credit,” said Green on Durant’s time in Golden State. “I don’t think we win another championship if Kevin doesn’t come.”
“We won the fourth championship without Kevin, but there was a gap in there where teams started to figure us out. We would not have beat the Cavs coming back around without Kevin.”
It’s shocking to see someone who has accomplished as much as Green has in the NBA giving that much credit to Durant considering how that relationship ended.
The move to bring in Durant was one that was heavily criticized by the NBA world at this time, but it very much seems like the team felt that they needed an extra push to beat the Cavaliers.
Golden State arguably had the most talented roster of all-time while Durant was on the team, and that trade was a big part of the dynasty that has been built.
It can also be argued that Durant needed the Warriors just as much as the Warriors needed him, as he has yet to replicate the success that he saw in Golden State on the Brooklyn Nets to this point.
We will never know if the Warriors could have beaten the Cavaliers again without Durant, but we now know that at least some players on the roster believed that they needed Durant to do so.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.