Draymond Green is convinced that the Golden State Warriors’ beautiful style of play has enchanted Kevin Durant in the 2016 offseason.
“KD wanted to play good basketball,” Green said on this appearance in the “Checc’n In” podcast (h/t NBC Sports’ Eduardo Razo). “You saw the type of basketball we was playing, guys moving the ball. It’s Steph hot. Everybody running screen for Steph. Everybody trying to get Steph the ball; we having fun.
“He wanted to play good basketball. We were playing the best brand of basketball. The brand of basketball that we play, pass, move. No one in the NBA was playing that brand of basketball except for the San Antonio Spurs.
Green added that even before the Oklahoma City Thunder went up 3-1 against them in the Conference Finals, Durant was showing shades of desire to join them in the Bay Area.
“Everybody’s running pick and roll and taking advantage of mismatches because that was the cycle that the NBA was in,” Green added. “We then changed the game of basketball and how basketball was played.
“KD saw that. KD wanted to play that brand of basketball. KD wanted to play with us … In my heart, believe before it ever came to them being up 3-1. KD wanted to come to the Warriors.”
Following OKC’s disastrous collapse upon blowing a 3-1 series deficit against the Warriors, Durant controversially took his talents to Golden State, and the rest was history.
Durant’s all-time great scoring and cheat code offense fortified the Dubs’ status as an invincible villain in the last decade, winning two more titles back-to-back in 2017 and 2018.
