Kevin Durant was an all-time great before he joined the Warriors, and cemented his legacy in NBA history with two championships and two NBA Finals MVPs in the Bay Area. And now that Durant is on the Brooklyn Nets, his former teammate Draymond Green believes you clearly can see how the Warriors influenced KD's modern game.
"100 percent," Green said Saturday night to reporters after the Warriors' 134-117 loss to the Nets. "You can even hear him talking out there on the floor and the things that he's telling people to do is kind of a completely different perspective than before he came here. I think his time here definitely helped him grow as a basketball player. Obviously it helped us as a team. But you can definitely see and feel the difference.
"When he was playing before, everything was kind of attack, attack, attack. It's not that anymore. You can definitely see, tell, feel, hear the difference."
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Durant finished the night with 20 points as his Nets blew out the Warriors in his first game at Chase Center. However, his evolved game was as evident as ever. Durant also had six assists, five rebounds and two blocks.
He was plus-22 in plus-minus.
After Green's answer on playing Durant in his post-Warriors career, he was then asked if the Warriors "created a monster" with this new KD.
"He was already a monster," Green said without hesitation. "I don't think any of us can take credit for that. He was already a monster. But I think being here definitely helped his IQ, for sure.
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"But that guy's been a monster."
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Durant agrees, too.
"My time here in Golden State was so much fun," Durant said Saturday night. "It's such a big learning experience, especially learning the game of basketball with a different philosophy. I'm gonna take that with me for the rest of my life."
There's no doubt Durant's game grew in his three years as a Warrior. He knows that and still tries to use those lessons every single day in pursuit of another ring with his new team.