In a recent Tidal League YouTube appearance, New York Knicks’ Evan Fournier proclaimed that Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden as the three hardest players he has ever guarded. Fournier was asked about who the single individual player was, who had proven for him the most difficult to guard in the league. Instead of naming one, the French International named all 3 of the Brooklyn Nets’ former “Big 3.”
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Fournier claimed that the Nets were on track to win their Eastern Conference Semifinals series against the Milwaukee Bucks, and the trio was “killing them.” He revealed that, in his opinion, injuries, as well as certain missed opportunities played a part in them losing the series and crashing out. A clip of the video was shared on Twitter by ClutchPoints.
Evan Fournier proclaims Brooklyn Nets’ former Big 3 as the best players he has ever guarded
Individually, Harden, Irving, and KD are all huge challenges for any NBA defender. The fact that they played for the same team was a scary prospect on paper. Fournier ended up naming all 3 when asked about the most difficult star he has ever come up against.
“Kd or Kyrie, prime James Harden. It did work until motherf*ckers got hurt in the playoffs. They were literally going to win, I think,” Fourner said, suggesting that he thought the Nets would have landed a championship had it not been for injuries.
The 31-year-old went on to claim that, alongside injuries, some other issues also seemed to have played a part in the Nets’ eventual downfall. “I guess missed opportunities and some issues that nobody knows. They were killing Milwaukee [the Bucks], 100%,” Fournier claimed.
Matt Mangano: “Who’s the hardest guy you ever guarded?”
Evan Fournier: “Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving or prime James Harden.”
Matt: “They were on the same team. Why didn’t that work?”
Evan: “It did work until motherf*ckers got hurt in the playoffs… The Nets were going to win.… pic.twitter.com/x3kxYtDJZ0
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 30, 2023
The player concluded that the Milwaukee Bucks were in trouble, and were being killed by the Nets’ offensive stars. However, the fact that they also had to contend with multiple injuries played a huge role in the eventual 4-3 loss.
Despite being one of the most gifted offensive teams in the NBA’s history, on paper, the Nets’ Big 3 did not have any sustained success. They eventually ended up all going their separate ways, with neither of them landing a championship since the moves.
The Brooklyn Nets’ Big 3 quickly separated after the Milwaukee Bucks’ loss
The first, out of the Big 3, who parted ways with the Nets, was James Harden. Harden has since seen his career take consistent dips as he spent the offseason trying to find a way out of Philadelphia.
That did not work, and Harden has not appeared for the 76ers this season thus far. Both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant eventually followed suit and moved in the 2023 off-season.
While Durant moved to the Suns, his team ended up crashing out in the first round last season against eventual champions Denver Nuggets. Controversies seem to have followed Kyrie Irving as well, just like Harden, albeit of a different type.
He has been inconsistent in his time at the Mavericks thus far and appears to be struggling to settle down alongside their primary ball handler, the magical Luka Doncic.
