Some would argue that Kevin Durant’s peak was with the Oklahoma City Thunder, but in terms of success, the Bay Area was kindest to him. He helped the Golden State Warriors taste championship glory in 2017 and 2018. While his stint by all yardsticks is a success, it was marred with comparisons to Stephen Curry pretty much all the time.
Advertisement
Curry, to almost every Golden State fan, is the franchise GOAT. But in both of those title victories with Durant, Curry didn’t win the Finals MVP. KD did.
That’s something the Warriors faithful don’t look back on with too much happiness. As it turns out, KD was not even trying to win it the second time. Speaking on the Player’s Choice program, one of his ex-teammates, Quinn Cook, revealed how dominant KD was during that time.
Cook said that when they needed someone at the clutch, everyone knew who the ball was going to. “We’re going to Kevin every single time,” he said. This, on a team that included Curry and Klay Thompson.
More important than being clutch, KD, according to Cook, was a good teammate. Durant wanted Curry to win the NBA Finals MVP award in 2018.
“Kevin wanted Steph to get that Finals MVP the next year. That’s all he was talking about all season,” revealed Cook. “‘I can’t wait till Steph gets his Finals MVP so he can shut up everybody. The naysayers.”
Steph was on his way, too. In Game 2 of the 2018 Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers, he recorded nine threes, which is an NBA record. But Game 3 was a different story, and KD couldn’t help but take over.
“In Game 3, we were struggling,” recalled Cook. “Steph was struggling, and Kevin just like accidentally walked into 40.”
Cook added that KD was even holding back a bit for the rest of the series. Yet he still won his second Finals MVP with ease.
“Then you just looked at the numbers statistically, I think Kevin had a triple-double in Game 4. He wasn’t even that aggressive. That’s how good he is. He just accidentally got the Finals MVP back-to-back,” added Cook.
Well, Cook isn’t saying anything new. KD is great, period. The Phoenix Suns may have had two awkward seasons with him at the helm, but Durant still put up fantastic numbers. A first-ballot Hall of Fame vote is a guarantee for the two-time champ and four-time Olympic gold medal winner.
What leaves Warriors fans frustrated, however, is Durant’s online skirmishes with them. In a recent series of tweets, he joked that winning those Finals MVP “scarred a lot of Warriors fans,” and that “they will never recover” from not hearing Steph’s name announced.
Them finals MVPs I won hurt you. Scared a lot of warrior fans when my name was announced
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) August 10, 2025
In a way, Durant is right. Curry and the Dubs had famously blown a 3-1 lead against the Cavs in 2016, and seemed like there was no way they would bounce back. Fortunately, KD was a free agent and joined the Warriors, creating one of the most dominant teams in league history.
Steph did get his redemption ring in 2022 without KD. But there’s no denying what Durant achieved in his time with the Warriors.
