JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL
Warriors Legend Reveals How Long It Took Stephen Curry to Accept Kevin Durant’s Arrival in San Francisco
A former legend of the Golden State Warriors recently shared insights on how long it took Stephen Curry to embrace and adapt to playing alongside Kevin Durant on the team. Keep reading to learn more!
The Golden State Warriors' dominance in the NBA during the 2016-2019 seasons is a period etched in basketball history. Central to this success was the partnership between Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, two basketball icons with MVP-like backgrounds. However, the transition for these two superstars to find their rhythm together was not immediate.
In a recent revelation, Warriors legend Shaun Livingston shared insights into the journey of Curry and Durant in forming a formidable partnership that eventually led to championship success.
Livingston highlighted that it was not until the Warriors' first festive-season game together, 172 days after Durant's arrival, that Curry truly accepted his adjusted role in the team. The pivotal moment came during a Christmas game where both players had to have an internal conversation to align their playing styles.
Livingston emphasized the importance of Curry embracing Durant's presence and allowing him to shine as the protagonist on the court.
During a rerent episode on the Knuckleheads podcast, Livingston said, “It was hard for Steph cause it was an adjustment. He didn’t make the adjustment until Christmas game!”
[Timestamp 1:27:26]
“After that Christmas game, I think, you know, there was an internal conversation amongst them two, which it had to be. Like, look, ‘I need you to be Steph Curry’. And once Steph was like, ‘Alright, you know, KD good, he’s good with us’. It was like unstoppable from there,” added, the Warriors legend.
Despite the adjustment period, Curry's willingness to adapt is evident in the statistics from the three seasons he played alongside Durant. Averaging 26.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 6 assists, Curry maintained a significant impact on the game while sharing the spotlight with Durant, who averaged 25.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 5.4 assists.
However, it was only around for a couple of years as Durant left Warriors that not many of the Bay Area team fans would love to recall. While some attribute the rift between Durant and Draymond Green during the 2018-19 season as a catalyst for his exit, the Warriors organization made significant efforts to retain Durant.
The Warriors tried their best to keep KD, as the team also wore warm up gear with Durant's number in his support during the 2019 Finals.
It was not only the team that wanted Durant to stay, his mother, Wanda Durant, also sided with the mainstream narrative. In a conversation with Curry’s mother, Sonya, Wanda said, “I didn’t really want him to go either … man, we would have had 20 rings by now. We would have had 20 rings by now and it was about [8] years ago. That’s how cold they were.”
Also Read: ‘What haven't I done?’: Kevin Durant says Warriors move shouldn’t keep him out of NBA GOAT debate
You May Like This
Latest Articles
