Led by Stephen Curry, the Golden State Warriors built one of the most successful runs in NBA history, winning four championships in eight seasons and making five straight Finals appearances. Yet, according to Detroit Pistons legend Isiah Thomas, the dynasty was nearly derailed—until one player stepped in to keep it alive.
Speaking with Draymond Green on The Draymond Green Show, Thomas pointed to Kevin Durant as the player who saved the Warriors’ dynasty and cemented the franchise’s legacy when he joined the team in the summer of 2016.
Thomas explained that if not for Durant’s arrival in the Bay Area, the Warriors might be remembered more for their collapse in the 2016 NBA Finals than for their historic run of success.
“Before Kevin Durant arrived in Golden State, y’all were on the verge of being remembered as the team that went 73-9 and lost to a Cleveland Cavaliers team in the Finals up 3-1 and probably one of the biggest collapses in NBA Finals history – from a 73-9 historical team,” Thomas told Green.
Draymond Green #23, Stephen Curry #30 and Klay Thompson #11 of the Golden State Warriors during Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Durant joined Golden State as a free agent in the summer of 2016 after leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder, and he became the difference-maker in the Warriors’ back-to-back championships in 2017 and 2018. Playing alongside Curry, Klay Thompson, and Green, Durant dominated the league and earned Finals MVP honors in both title runs.
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“Kevin Durant comes that summer and really saves y’all basketball legacies, and you win two championships after that. And now the Golden State Warriors dynasty that you’re going to go in the Hall of Fame on and everything else is cemented because if Durant don’t come that summer and you guys are remembered as the 73-9 team that lost [up] 3-1 in the NBA Finals, all of your legacies are different,” Thomas added.
The Warriors nearly secured a third straight title in 2019, but Durant suffered a devastating Achilles injury in the Finals against the Toronto Raptors. Without him, Golden State fell in six games, effectively closing the chapter on that era of the dynasty.
