Kevin Durant and Steve Nash’s time together in Brooklyn was a high-profile but ultimately unfulfilled chapter for the Nets. Durant joined the team in 2019 while recovering from an Achilles injury, and Nash was hired as head coach in 2020, despite having no prior coaching experience. The duo, along with Kyrie Irving and later James Harden, formed what many thought would be a dominant superteam. But their tenure was marked by injuries, off-court drama, and inconsistent availability among the stars.
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The Nets’ star trio played only a handful of games together but still pushed the Milwaukee Bucks to seven games in the 2021 Eastern Conference Semifinals. Durant’s near game-winning shot in Game 7 came inches from sending them to the Conference Finals. That moment proved to be the high point of this era, as the situation quickly unraveled thereafter.
Following a 2-5 start in which everything had gone completely sideways for the team, the Nets decided to move on from Nash. Durant soon realized it was a sinking ship; one he needed to get off of. The future Hall of Famer was eventually traded to the Phoenix Suns in February 2023.
Nearly three years removed from their time together in Brooklyn, Nash and Durant finally reflected on their partnership during the latter’s appearance on Mind the Game. From the start, KD felt that he and Nash were the only steady, reliable figures within the team.
“I’m like, ‘Who am I spending my next five years with?’ I had just signed that deal. You had just signed a deal. But I feel like we was secure, but everything else around us was going to s**t,” Durant said to his former coach. “We got GMs going to other teams. We got coaches going to other teams. We got players forcing trades. We bring in Ben Simmons, he’s back. It was just so much.”
The Rockets forward seemingly wanted to send a message with that statement. KD and the Nets welcomed James Harden with open arms while also trading a haul for his services. As soon as the team ran into a slight bump on their road to contention, though, it was The Beard who was complaining, more often than not. Durant may have requested a trade, but not before Harden demanded one.
“I feel like we were locked in on the same page and understand like, we trying to do something special here. And I felt like [Nash’s] hands were tied because as a coach, you had to deal with so much,” Durant continued. “Didn’t get to coach as much as I wanted to,” Nash responded. “That’s what it was. We didn’t get the full Steve Nash like I wanted.”
The Nets, especially when they were struggling, looked more like a sideshow attraction than an NBA team at times. This put plenty of pressure on the first-time head coach and limited what he could actually do with the team. The two-time MVP shared the conflicted emotions he feels when looking back on his time coaching in Brooklyn.
“From my perspective, I feel a little bit like I let everybody down, but then I realize there was so much on me, and I just wish I had more of a chance to develop as a coach,” Nash said. “I think so, too. I just think your hands were tied too many times. You had to be a principal more so than anything,” Durant responded with a laugh.
When the Brooklyn Nets hired Steve Nash and assembled a trio of future Hall of Famers, many immediately labeled them championship favorites. But the turbulent ride that followed proved that building a true contender takes far more than simply stacking star talent and hoping for chemistry. Their run served as a cautionary tale that even the brightest names can’t guarantee success.
