Kevin Durant’s tenure with the Brooklyn Nets may go down as the most uninspiring chapter of his career. KD’s partnership with Kyrie Irving and James Harden was supposed to dominate the NBA behind the trio’s unmatched offensive firepower, but it never truly took off the ground. Within three seasons of forming the group, all three of the Nets’ superstars had moved on to different franchises.
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Durant recently spoke about his time in Brooklyn during an appearance on the Out the Mud Podcast, where the superstar shared how he actually enjoyed his time with the Nets, despite the lack of on-court success. The 36-year-old stated how well the three stars worked together when they were on the court, but underlined how they could never stay healthy at the same time.
“Injuries, COVID, all that stuff played a factor,” Durant said, “But when you turn on that film and watch us on the court together, it was some s*** you can teach a team.”
The two-time champion knew what the Nets were capable of when healthy, but it never came to fruition. Ultimately, though, it was a positive experience for KD, who explained how he just wanted a “smaller, different vibe” after a dominant stay with the Golden State Warriors. Durant wasn’t able to win in Brooklyn, but he did get the experience that he craved.
Durant, Harden, and Irving played 16 games during their time together
Despite boasting three of basketball’s most prolific scorers, the Nets were never able to surpass 48 wins between 2019 and 2023. The first season of Durant and Irving’s tenure was lost following KD’s Achilles injury, which cost him the entirety of the 2019-20 campaign. The franchise’s quest for a title immediately became an uphill battle, which prompted Brooklyn to add even more star power in the form of Harden.
The Nets came close to battling their way to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021, but Durant’s infamous foot-on-the-line fadeaway ultimately cost Brooklyn their best shot at winning a title. Brooklyn returned to the postseason in each of the next two seasons but was promptly bounced in the first round, unable to remedy their failing experiment.
The addition of Harden proved to be the nail in the coffin for the franchise’s future, as the former MVP played in only 80 games in just over a season with the team.
Neither Irving nor Durant reached 150 games played for the Nets, either, but both put up much more memorable performances while donning Brooklyn’s black and white. Had the franchise’s stars stayed healthy, KD’s tenure in Brooklyn may be viewed in a more positive light.
