Would LeBron James have more than four titles if Kevin Durant didn’t join the stacked Warriors in 2016? As per Stephen Curry’s 2x champion teammate Quinn Cook, that is indeed the case. Cook went to the Captain Jack podcast recently and discussed how his former teammate was the reason why the highly talented Cavaliers team led by James was denied multiple titles. Cook also pointed out how James’ Cavs teammate Kyrie Irving is the “most skilled player in the world“.
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The former Warriors guard revealed how he had “lived” with Kyrie when he was a rookie in the NBA in 2015. Therefore, he saw the dribbling maestro “working” first-hand. Considering the talents of Irving, James had a strong supporting cast in Kevin Love and Co. at that time. Cook argued that had Durant not joined the Dubs, the California side would have perished to the Cavs in the 2017 and 2018 Finals. After all, it was pretty much the same Cavs team that beat the 73-9 Warriors in the 2016 finals.
“They [Cavs] won in 2016 and if KD doesn’t go to the Warriors, they win again. I don’t see the Warriors beating that Cavs team. I just don’t think they matched up well,” the 31-year-old added.
The core of James, Love, and Irving had incredible role players to complement them, like the sharpshooting JR Smith, the hustling Matthew Dellavedova, and the versatile Richard Jefferson. With three strong players surrounding a talented trio, the chances of the Warriors winning without KD looked slim to Cook. Meanwhile, it isn’t just Quinn Cook who feels that KD was the reason why the Cavs lost in the 2017 and 2018 Finals. Premier defender Draymond Green also feels the same.
Draymond Green also highlighted KD’s role in beating James and Co
In 2022, Draymond Green appeared on JJ Redick’s The Old Man and the Three pod to talk about Durant’s value during their back-to-back championships. Redick triggered the discussion by expressing that KD doesn’t get enough credit for helping them win those titles. The 2017 DPOY agreed with this take and touched upon the importance of one of the best offensive players ever. NBC News’ Dan Feldman covered his comments on the pod.
“I don’t think that team wins another championship if Kevin doesn’t come. Now, you may say, ‘Oh, yeah, but y’all won the fourth one without Kevin.’ But there’s a gap in there where teams started to figure us out,” Draymond Green told Redick.
The 4x NBA champion opined that just having Steph wasn’t enough. While Curry was supremely talented, he still wasn’t the player he became in the post-Durant era, which helped them capture the 2022 championship. Thus, for the 2017 and 2018 championships, the Dubs needed KD, who gave them automatic buckets.
