Kevin Durant starred in the most recent season of “Starting 5” on Netflix, and for lack of a more nuanced term, it was ‘awesome’. He pulled NBA fans behind the curtain to show off how he mentally and physically prepares for every game, as well as what goes on in his home life. But what really caught everyone’s attention was what KD had to say about offense vs. defense in the league.
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For context, Durant has consistently been one of the most lethal offensive threats in the NBA for 19 years. He’s averaged 27.2 points per game throughout his 1130 game career. And while he still averages a steal and a block per game in his career, every fan would agree that he’s more of a threat on offense than defense.
That’s why it wasn’t too surprising to hear him side with offense over defense when it came to winning championships.
“You have to score baskets if you want to win a championship… Playing defense, we can get any of y’all in here to bend your legs… that’s easy,” Durant said on Starting 5.
Durant has won two championships in his career with the Golden State Warriors. Back then, they were considered the biggest offensive juggernaut in the league. With KD, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, they were practically unbeatable in the playoffs.
Kevin Durant believes offense wins Championships
“You have to score baskets if you want to win a championship… Playing defense, we can get any of y’all in here to bend your legs… that’s easy.”
(Via @netflixsports, h/t @OmerOsman200)pic.twitter.com/4SYgkeGVTH
— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) October 17, 2025
Durant and the Warriors cruised to their first title in 2017, only losing one game during the entire playoffs. Then, in 2018, they won it again. But in their quest for the three-peat, KD tore his Achilles, and the Dubs lost to the Toronto Raptors.
There’s no question that offense was a staple of those Warriors teams as they led the league in ORTG in 2016-17 and were 3rd in 2017-18. However, they also had some of the best defensive ratings in the league. Most notably, Draymond led the unit by instilling fiery intensity that made opponents uncomfortable.
That’s why Draymond said this in response to Durant’s take on offense vs. defense in a recent interview.
“That fact still remains, and I think that those who don’t believe it, don’t win. It’s very simple. Those who don’t believe defense is as valuable as it is, they simply just don’t win,” Draymond told The Athletic.
They were wild quotes coming from a former teammate of Durant. But it’s not like Draymond was wrong. After all, ever since he left Golden State, KD has struggled to win a championship elsewhere. And most of the time, it’s due to him being on a team that can’t get that essential stop on defense when they need it.
Shannon Sharpe recently got around to analyzing the debate and decided to try to put an end to it, siding with Durant.
“I don’t know if they remember in both Game 3’s what Kevin Durant did,” Sharpe said on Nightcap. “It was Kevin Durant that hit the shots both games that was heard around the world. He couldn’t stop LeBron, but he could match LeBron [James] point for point.”
The shots that Sharpe was referring to were indeed some of the biggest shots in Durant’s career. In Game 3 of 2017, he pulled up and nailed a three with 45 seconds remaining to give the Warriors a 114-113 lead that they would never relinquish. Then, in 2018, he did it again, drilling a clutch three with 49 seconds left to give Golden State a 106-100 lead in Game 3. Both silenced the Cleveland Cavaliers’ crowd and cemented who the better team was.
Shannon Sharpe says he agrees with Kevin Durant over Draymond Green when it comes to offense winning over defense when it comes to winning a championship. He says if the Warriors didn’t have KD’s offensive power, then LeBron James would have had 2 more championships. Via Nightcap pic.twitter.com/EQ6cqaBfmN
— joebuddenclips/fanpage (@chatnigga101) November 6, 2025
With these moments in mind, Sharpe concluded with this statement.
“I believe, Draymond, yes, you need defense. But in basketball, you got that dog… You don’t think they tried to play defense on Mike? You don’t think they tried to play defense against Kobe and Shaq? Shaq was averaging 36 and 18. What defense do you got to stop that?” he questioned.
These are great questions to ask and ponder over. But at the same time, those players came from a different era. In today’s NBA, there are plenty of teams that have formed a strong identity by prioritizing defense over offense.
For example, last year, the team that won the championship, the Oklahoma City Thunder, set the highest mark for steals per 100 possessions that we’ve seen in the last 12 years. Furthermore, their 10.7 steals per 100 in the playoffs were the highest we’ve seen in the last 26 years.
All in all, offense can win championships for certain teams in specific situations. But at the end of the day, defense is still a massive component of winning a championship. Maybe that’s why Durant has struggled to win one other than the time he was on a super team that did everything well. Don’t take great defense for granted.
