When Steph Curry and Kevin Durant teamed up in the 2016-17 season, it was an unfair pairing that completely altered the NBA. And it wasn’t just them, but the Warriors had a super deep bench too. One of those players whom Steve Kerr loved to call on was none other than the do-it-all specialist, Matt Barnes.
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Years later, when looking back on the team on his podcast All The Smoke, Barnes didn’t know how good he had it at the time. As he opened up about his best memories on the team with Curry and Durant before the drama started, he recalled just how well that team worked together, despite having 4 All-Star caliber players on the roster.
It wasn’t just the talent of the Warriors that Barnes looked back on fondly. He admired the work that every player put in that season.
“It was a good team. And one thing I remember the most about that team was the work ethic,” Barnes recalled. “Before the drama, bro, it was the most unbelievable sh*t ever. The energy was so pure. Everybody f*cked with each other. Off days, the whole entire team was in there getting treatment and lifting weights, working out,” he added.
It must have been a beautiful sight for Coach Kerr to see. Even on their days off, his team was in the facility putting in the extra work to get better. Ultimately, it paid off with an easy route to an NBA championship.
Barnes also shared that after practice, Steph and Durant would do shooting drills with Steve Nash.
“They’re doing all of this spin around, one-foot balance. And you see Steph at 6’3” and then you see Kevin Durant at almost motherf*cking 7 feet and they’re just mirror images of doing this sh*t. All the lefty shots, one foot fadeaway out of bounds and sh*t. Every single day,” Barnes said.
It’s impressive that a guy of Durant’s size could keep up with and do the same shooting drills as the smaller Steph. But it shows how uniquely talented he is for his height. Nobody should be able to shoot or handle the ball like Durant does at his size, but he defies all previous logic.
On the other end of the practice gym, Barnes shared that there was another sharpshooter also doing unbelievably well. “Then you see Klay [Thompson] on the other side of the court. Klay would go 97 for 100 shooting jumpers.”
On top of all of the incredible work ethic in the gym, Barnes says that the Warriors had incredible ownership to make sure the players were taken care of. This meant the nicest hotels, private planes for family members, and also free meals for the family. It helped inspire the players to work extra hard.
At the end of the day, you really wonder, were the 2016-17 Warriors the most well-run team in the history of the NBA? They redeemed a season in which they fumbled the Finals by signing the top dog on the market in Durant. Then they won 67 games and got the first seed in the playoffs and proceeded to go 16-1 en route to the Larry O’Brien.
All Barnes’ comments do is add to the argument. There are probably other contenders, but it’s hard to imagine a more perfect, ideal season for a team.
