Kevin Durant dominated the 2017 NBA Finals.
Yet, he received only moderate credit for besting LeBron James.
No matter how much Durant tries to spin it another way, the Warriors were perceived as an invincible super team upon his arrival. Their win over the Cavaliers was viewed as more fait accompli than accomplishment.
Yet, Durant is still trying to convince people how difficult that title was, replying to an Instagram post:
Kevin Durant says that Warriors/Cavs 2017 NBA Finals was better than this years matchup. pic.twitter.com/3lYdT0M7N7
— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) July 19, 2021
No, it wasn’t a perfectly even matchup. The Warriors were a big favorite entering the series. After winning 4-1, they looked like arguably the best team of all-time.
Golden State was loaded with Durant, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and good complementary players. Cleveland was very good with LeBron James, Kyrie Irving,* Kevin Love and some solid role players. But this was no even matchup.
Tellingly, the Warriors (67-15) won 16 (!) more games than the Cavaliers (51-31) in the regular season.
*Maybe Durant is just trying to hype his current Nets teammate, Irving.
All championships are earned. None are inevitable. There’s a somewhat strange dynamic where Durant must keep defending himself for working his way to the top of his profession, getting job offers from every organization and picking the top one.
But this title was easier than most. By the NBA Finals, the Cavs were little more than a doormat to Golden State’s coronation.
