When Kevin Durant signed with the Golden State Warriors in 2016, it felt unfair for the entire NBA. After all, Durant joined a 73-win Warriors team that featured Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. This was a smart move for the 15-time All-Star, since it led to a championship win for two straight years. It also allowed him to earn the Finals MVP in both instances.
When KD joined, it wasn’t like the Warriors had a subpar group. Curry had just nabbed his second regular-season MVP award and led the league in scoring. Thompson, on the other hand, was coming into his own as a star. Lastly, Green was solidifying himself as one of the best all-around defenders across the association.
The Warriors also won the championship two seasons ago and gave serious competition against the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers team in 2016. However, they came up short, which is why they signed Durant.
During the 2018 Finals, the Golden State Warriors were on their way to winning another title. Former guard Quinn Cook appeared on the “Players Choice” podcast, where the case of Durant’s Finals MVP was brought up. During that stretch, the former Texas star averaged 28.8 points, 10.8 rebounds and 7.5 assists through four games.
Cook revealed that the entire team, including Durant, wanted Curry to earn the Finals MVP honors.
“When we were in Houston and Toyota Center was going crazy, and they just made a 9-0 run and we needed a bucket, we’re going to Kevin every single time. And to be honest, Kevin wanted Steph to get that Finals MVP the next year so bad,” Cook said. “That’s all he was talking about all season, like ‘I can’t wait until Steph gets his Finals MVP’ so he can shut up everybody, the naysayers.”
Curry ended up averaging 27.5 points, six rebounds and 6.8 assists during the series. But that wasn’t enough for him to win the Finals MVP award,
Durant recently took a slight jab at the Golden State Warriors star
Although there has been a lot of criticism about Durant’s Finals MVP with the Golden State Warriors, it’s something that can’t be taken away from him. Recently, he had an interaction with a fan that many thought was a slight diss at Curry.
A fan asked Durant why a lot of Warriors fans hate him, despite winning two titles with the organization.
“Them finals mvps, they will never recover,” Durant replied.
Them finals mvps, they will never recover
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) August 10, 2025
A lot of fans thought Curry deserved to win at least one of the Finals MVPs in the two years they were teammates. This is why KD gets a lot of hate from the fans.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
