The dynamic between Kevin Durant and Draymond Green has undergone yet another twist. The latter recently downplayed the importance of KD during the Golden State Warriors’ back-to-back championship run in 2017 and 2018. His latest subliminal social media activity highlighted his thoughts as the NBA community almost immediately took notice.
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A recent Instagram post by Sports Fluent, showcasing an offensive sequence of the then-Warriors, sparked the entire situation. The post captured the roster’s dependency on Stephen Curry as the opposition’s defense got drawn onto him instead of Durant. The caption then went on to emphasize the post’s message, saying, “Imagine seeing this and thinking KD was the reason GS won,”. This quickly spurred on some serious debates on the matter.
Interestingly, Green sided with the notion of the reel, seemingly displaying his inner feelings. An NBA fan, 30 Problemz, caught the 34-year-old liking the post on Instagram, before they uploaded a screenshot as proof on X (formerly Twitter), with the caption, “Draymond liked this Instagram post”.
This put the spotlight on the dramatic relationship between the All-Stars all over again. Despite playing an active role in bringing Durant to the Bay Area back in 2016, Green allegedly started to berate him and his influence on the Warriors over time. The distance between them started to grow with each passing day before finally coming to the public’s attention during the 2018/19 NBA season.
In November 2018, the duo engaged in an on-court argument to express their disagreement over an offensive sequence. As per Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes, Green declared on that occasion, “We don’t need you. We won without you. Leave”. This paved the way for an irreversible outcome as KD opted for free agency that subsequent offseason, putting an end to the Warriors dynasty.
However, since the Washington-born’s departure from the team, his distance from Green seemingly decreased at first. The latter even raised eyebrows all around during his recent appearance on 7PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony, stating, “I respect KD as a basketball player. He’s one of the best we’ve ever seen, and that’s kind of where it’s at. I got no ill will. I actually got nothing but love for KD”.
In the end, Green’s actions have majorly influenced the direction of his friendship with Durant. At times, they were each other’s closest friends, while on occasion, they turned into NBA rivals. The love-hate dynamic seemingly continues to this day, with the Warriors forward refusing to put the past behind them.
As for Green liking the post, while the player may not hate the Suns forward, he seems to be in no mood to step away from the belief Golden State never needed Kevin Durant. And knowing the 2-time Finals MVP, there is likely going to be a reaction before long.
