CJ McCollum has some thoughts on the Warriors’ dynasty.
Specifically, the New Orleans Pelicans star believes one player was above the rest from 2016 to 2019 – and, in a controversial take amongst Warriors fans, it wasn’t Steph Curry.
“There’s no debate about who was the best player on that team,” McCollum said on ESPN’s "First Take" on Tuesday. “We know it was Kevin Durant. Steph knows it was Kevin Durant. Draymond, deep down, he knows it was Kevin Durant.”
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SIGN UP HERE It’s unclear whether McCollum actually has spoken to Curry or Draymond Green to get their opinions. But McCollum certainly had a clear view of the Warriors’ run with Durant from his time on the Portland Trail Blazers. Golden State swept Portland in the Western Conference Finals during the 2019 postseason.
Durant actually never led the Warriors in scoring in his three regular seasons on the team, as that mark belonged to Curry in the 2016-17 and 2018-19 seasons, while both Curry and Durant averaged 26.4 points per game during the 2017-18 campaign.
During the playoffs, though, Durant paced the Warriors during all three seasons, winning Finals MVP during the 2017 and 2018 Finals over Curry.
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Curry certainly sacrificed for Durant to join the Warriors, and allowed him to take control of games – which Durant did effectively more often than not. And the formula worked, as the Warriors claimed back-to-back titles with Durant and nearly had a three-peat – if not for poorly-timed injuries to both Durant and Klay Thompson in the 2019 NBA Finals.
McCollum seemed pretty adamant in his opinion. But, as Durant watches from home after his Brooklyn Nets were swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round of these playoffs, his former team – led by Curry – is three wins away from another championship.
