Stephen Curry has confirmed he held discussions with Kevin Durant about the two-time Finals MVP rejoining the Golden State Warriors after his trade request from the Brooklyn Nets last season.
Durant left the Warriors in 2019 after three seasons in which the team was near invincible before injury ruined their chances of a third-straight NBA title. However, Durant’s time in Brooklyn didn’t go as planned, leading to his departure in February this year.
How close did Kevin Durant come to rejoining Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green at the Golden State Warriors?
The 34-year-old publicly requested a trade from the Nets on June 30 last year — a move that was initially denied before the franchise eventually relented in dealing him to the Phoenix Suns mid-season.
Speaking recently on The Ringer’s ‘Real Ones’ podcast with Logan Murdock and Raja Bell, Curry spoke about his conversations with Durant and how close the dynamic duo came to playing with each other once again.
“I think there was an excitement or curiosity of, ‘Is this really a legit possibility?’ And to be honest, I had talked to him maybe once or twice about it specifically…Yeah, we know our games gel, we know how to play basketball, so if it ended up being that, of course I’d love to play with him. But it never really got past that”, Curry said.
Curry and Durant will go down in NBA history as one of the best duos to ever play alongside each other, with their talent and seamless fit within the Warrior system leading to some of the most dominant and breathtaking basketball ever witnessed.
Yet despite the beauty of their play together, some argue that it disappointingly took away from their prime years individually. Curry undoubtedly took a step back to allow Durant into the fold, selflessly giving up potential individual accolades for the good of team success.
Although Curry won two championships with Durant across the dominant three-year span, his crowning achievement undisputedly came last year when he led Golden State to another title over the Boston Celtics.
The pair will once again lead their teams as foes heading into the 2023-24 season. Back in the Western Conference and specifically alongside the Warriors in the pacific division, fans can look forward to Durant meeting Curry four times next regular season.