Kevin Durant called himself Sub-Zero as he and Serge Ibaka debated the probability of the Warriors winning the 2019 NBA Finals with fit KD.
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There’s no doubt that the Warriors put together one of the greatest dynastic runs ever in this past decade. The root of all their success is their core of Steph, Klay and Dray. But what put them over the top into rarefied territory was adding Kevin Durant as a free agent in 2016.
Once Kevin Durant meshed in with their schemes, they became possibly the most dominant team in modern basketball. They put together a 16-1 run in the 2017 NBA playoffs, beating the deepest, best Cavs team of the decade 4-1 in the Finals.
“I was like Sub-Zero!”: Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka engage in hilarious back-and-forth
Serge and KD were the two guys who got tangled up when Durant suffered the Achilles tear that kept him out of the entire 2019-20 NBA season. This happened on the NBA Finals stage, no less.
The Warriors had entered that game down 3-1 in the series. Despite what fans might say now, it was understood that getting Kevin Durant back was their best shot at winning the championship. KD realized that as well. That’s the reason he was back out there on the court.
KD continues to hold the position that he could’ve led the Warriors to complete the comeback that year if he hadn’t suffered the injury. That’s the position he held on How Hungry Are You? with Serge Ibaka:
“If you put an if in front of something, I could believe anything, so yes.”
Ibaka wasn’t about to let him have all of that on his own show – after all, the 2019 NBA champion has his own pride.