Kevin Durant is back, and looking incredible as ever. After his performance led Team USA to a dominant 110-84 victory over Nikola Jokić’s Serbia, head coach Steve Kerr couldn’t stop gushing about his returned superstar. And this was something Isiah Thomas was quick to promote as well.
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Durant had not played a game since the Minnesota Timberwolves knocked his Phoenix Suns out in the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs. Worse yet, he had been too injured to play until very recently. And yet, the 35-year-old put up a whopping 23 points on 8 of 9 from the field, and 5 of 5 from three-point range.
Awe-struck by what he had seen, Kerr seemed to be in no mood to hold back anything. He gave KD all the credit in the world, saying, “It [his performance against Serbia] was incredible… I think he’s the most skilled basketball player I’ve ever seen. The games just comes so easily for him and a long layoff like that doesn’t seem to bother him, and he was brilliant. Obviously just shifted the game as soon as he got on the floor.” [per ESPN]
Glowing words, mixed in with what many would consider to be a little bit of a strong take. After all, while Durant is beyond skilled, there are others that could be considered to be on a similar level to him. However, it appears that Detroit Pistons legend Thomas seems to agree with Kerr‘s words completely. He even went as far as to share the head coach’s words on his Instagram story.
Isiah Thomas shares a Steve Kerr quote on Durant pic.twitter.com/WZCeTH3E38
— tragicpatek (@tragicpatek) July 30, 2024
Especially after his last game, Kevin Durant deserves to have earned all the supporters in the world. After all, he was akin to a force of nature during the game, that no one could even think about stopping.
That said, Isiah Thomas is hardly someone who was converted just recently. No, the 63-year-old has been a staunch supporter of ‘The Durantula’ for quite some time now. In fact, he once even went as far as to say that he saved the Golden State Warriors’ legacy.
Thomas believes Durant’s move saved the Golden State Warriors
There are many that discount the rings Kevin Durant has won, simply because he won them with the Golden State Warriors. However, during an appearance on The Draymond Green Show, Isiah Thomas admitted that he believes the opposite is the real truth.
“Before Kevin Durant arrived in Golden State, y’all were on the verge of [falling off], and then remembered as the team that went 73-9, and lost to the Cleveland Cavalier team… You up 3-1, and probably one of the biggest collapse in NBA Finals history. Kevin Durant comes that summer, and really saves y’all basketball legacy. You win 2 championships after that.”
While many may disagree with Thomas’s point completely, his take makes at least one thing clear. Even if Kevin Durant didn’t ‘save’ the Warriors’ legacy, he most certainly helped it. Admittedly, it is something that he may deserve more flowers for.
