NBA Rumors: Kevin Durant Breaks Silence On Reports Saying Warriors Are Better Without Him, ‘That’s Not Facts’
The Golden State Warriors headed to the 2019 NBA Playoffs with a starting lineup featuring five NBA All-Stars: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, and DeMarcus Cousins. However, as the postseason went on, the Warriors started to lose some of their core players to injuries, including Durant, who suffered a mild right calf strain in Game 5 of their Western Conference Semifinals matchup against the Houston Rockets.
Luckily, despite not having one of their best players on the court, the Warriors still managed to perform well on both ends of the floor and made their fifth consecutive trip to the NBA Finals. The Warriors’ recent success created a notion around the league that they are a better team without Kevin Durant. In a recent interview with Nick Friedell of ESPN, Durant finally decided to break his silence on the reports saying that the Warriors are playing better in his absence, “That’s not facts.”
“It’s been that way since I got here,” Durant said. “It’s been that way since I got here — ‘It’s the Warriors and KD.’ I understand that, and I felt like my teammates and the organization know exactly what I’ve done here off and on the court to become a part of this culture, stamp my flag in this culture and this organization…. I know what I bring to the team, but I also know a lot of people on the outside don’t like to see us together, and I get it.”
One Phoenix family knows there's much more to Kevin Durant's social media presence than feuding with trolls. https://t.co/lXwqErYa6m
— USA TODAY NBA (@usatodaynba) May 26, 2019
Kevin Durant has been the subject of criticisms from the time he left the Oklahoma City Thunder to join the star-studded Warriors in the summer of 2016. Before he made the controversial decision, the Warriors were already a championship-caliber team and had posted a historical 73-9 record during the 2015-16 NBA season. Until now, some people viewed Durant as the superstar who took the easiest road to win an NBA championship.
However, no one can deny the fact that Kevin Durant is one of the major reasons behind the Warriors’ success in the past two seasons where they succeeded to build a dynasty and won back-to-back NBA championship titles. After hearing the controversial reports, most of the Warriors’ core players, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, and Coach Steve Kerr decided to show some support to Durant and denied that Golden State is a better team without him.
Unfortunately, as of now, Kevin Durant’s availability for the 2019 NBA Finals remains a big question mark. Durant said that he’s “doing better every day,” but he can’t give an assurance whether he can play against the Toronto Raptors or not.
