12 months ago, there was some question as to how Kevin Durant would adjust to joining Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and the Golden State Warriors. Despite an injury that briefly threatened his debut campaign, Durant hit the ground running in Oakland and eventually aided in the team capturing the 2017 NBA Championship. In fact, Durant was so good in the pivotal series against the Cleveland Cavaliers that he was named Finals MVP and he even hit (easily) the biggest shot of the series to boot.
This week, the NBA put forth a collection of the ten best plays of Durant’s maiden voyage with the Warriors and, as you may expect, it is an impressive compilation of highlights.
The champ… @KDTrey5's TOP 10 PLAYS from the 2016-17 season for the @Warriors! #BESTofNBA pic.twitter.com/mAW6VxdnuQ
— NBA (@NBA) August 22, 2017
Naturally, No. 1 on the list is the Game 3 dagger that essentially closed out the Cavaliers and helped to buoy Durant to the Finals MVP honor. Elsewhere, No. 2 is the much dissected (and admired) three-man alley-oop against the Indiana Pacers in which the entire floor was covered with passes from Green to Curry and, finally, to Durant without the ball hitting the ground.
In short, Durant’s considerable range of ridiculous skills are on display in this group of highlights, with his deadly long-range shooting, improved passing and even the ability to break down defenses off the dribble. The 28-year-old is seen by many as a league MVP front-runner for the upcoming 2017-2018 campaign and, with a reminder like this of everything that Kevin Durant can do on a basketball court, it makes all the sense in the world.
