NBA legend Isiah Thomas has some thought-provoking statements about the Warriors dynasty and the impact Kevin Durant had once he signed with the team in the summer of 2016.
Appearing on Draymond Green’s eponymous podcast, Thomas explained that if Durant had not signed with Golden State and led them to back-to-back NBA championships, the team would have been remembered differently.
“Let me make a bold statement here and I hope this doesn’t upset you,” Thomas said. “Before Kevin Durant arrived in Golden State, y’all were on the verge of pshh [going down] and being remembered as the team that went 73-9 and lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Finals.”
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"If Durant don't come that summer and you guys are remembered as the 73-9 team, all of your legacies are different"
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) March 12, 2024
—@IsiahThomas tells @Money23Green the impact @KDTrey5 had for the Warriors pic.twitter.com/pO8C1TpisU
Thomas then went on to explain that the Warriors had one of the all-time biggest playoff collapses when they lost the 2016 NBA Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers despite being up three games to one and owning the best regular-season record in league history, which would be their legacy if not for Durant’s addition.
“You were up 3-1 and probably one of the biggest collapses in NBA Finals history,” Thomas told Green.
“Kevin Durant comes that summer and really saves your basketball legacy; you win two championships after that. The Golden State Warriors dynasty that you’re going to go in the Hall of Fame for, everything else, it is cemented because if Durant doesn’t come that summer and you guys are remembered as the 73-9 team, all of your legacies are different.”
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With Durant added to the mix, the Warriors were the most dominant team in the NBA during their consecutive championships, and a bid for a third consecutive title was derailed by Durant and Klay Thompson sustaining serious injuries during the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors.
Golden State did win another title once Durant left the team, however, with the Warriors winning the 2022 NBA Finals over the Boston Celtics.
Currently an analyst for NBA TV, Thomas starred for the Detroit Pistons for 13 seasons, leading the team to consecutive championships in 1989 and 1990 and he was named to the NBA’s 50th and 75th-anniversary teams.