The Golden State Warriors dynasty would not have been what it was without Kevin Durant joining the team in 2016. From the outside looking in, it was a cakewalk to the championship during his first two seasons in Golden State, but for Stephen Curry, meshing with Durant was more challenging than it appeared at first.
Shaun Livingston was an important part of their title runs when they won three in four years from 2015 to 2018. He recently appeared on the Knuckleheads Podcast and detailed why the dynamic relationship between the two superstars took some time.
“Steph took a step back and had to make the biggest adjustment. I think that is what KD was looking at,” said Livingston. “You know, is Steph going to take that step back?”
Before Durant’s arrival, Curry was the undisputed best player on the team. He took the most shots on a nightly basis and had the ultimate green light.
“I have never seen somebody score so efficiently as KD. 30 on like 12 shots. How? So, when he came, it wasn’t really an adjustment for him because he could get his in the flow like no one else I’ve ever seen. Steph, his was a little bit more volume, right? You need a little bit more rhythm,” said Livingston.
Curry was not used to having to tone things back at all, something Durant was perfectly fine with after having shared the court with Russell Westbrook for years in Oklahoma City. It was an adjustment for Curry. He had to figure out how to get going while also letting Durant do his thing.
“I think there was a little bit more internal conversation amongst them two,” Livingston continued. “And then once Steph was like, alright, KD is good with us, he is here. I think that is when we were unstoppable.”
Curry figured out how to be effective while getting up fewer shots. In the first two years with Durant, his field goal attempts dropped. Coming off back-to-back MVP seasons and 20.2 attempts a game, Curry went down to 18.3 in 2017 and 16.9 in 2018.
We might never see a team like that Warriors squad again. Add in Klay Thompson, and they had arguably the three best shooters in the league at the time. With that much talent, the best players must sacrifice to maximize the team’s potential.
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