The smiles and celebrations between Steph Curry and Kevin Durant as teammates once again being coached by Steve Kerr have been impossible to miss. If time heals all wounds, even for the unruly side of sports fandom, Curry and Durant representing Team USA at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics is the perfect reminder of what was and what always will be.
Appreciate it. That’s the message sent by a former key Warriors teammate of Curry and Durant, one who arrived when Golden State first went to the NBA Finals and walked into the sunset of retirement at the conclusion of a five-year run that included five consecutive Finals trips.
“There's still some gumbo in the pot,” Shaun Livingston told NBC Sports Bay Area on the latest episode of "Dubs Talk." “That mix, it works. That's why the fit was just so easy when K came over.
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“His skill set and who he is.”
Before Durant broke the hearts of mid-westerners and unlocked a new Fourth of July memory for all, he already was well on his way to the Hall of Fame. Rookie of the Year. MVP. Four-time scoring champion. Seven trips to the NBA All-Star Game and a six-time All-NBA honoree.
Durant had done all that through his first nine professional seasons at 27 years old. Something still was missing. And not just a championship ring or Finals MVP, both of which he won in his first two seasons with the Warriors.
His one year at Texas was enough of a college experience condensed into 35 games of collecting every award imaginable. Durant’s time as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder, as well as his rookie year with the Seattle SuperSonics before the franchise’s relocation, was an extension of his basketball education. Let’s call it graduate school for a walking bucket.
Golden State Warriors
Then came his master’s degree in basketballogy, walking across the hallowed stage of Oracle Arena where E-40 and Too Short were the emcees of a crowd that can’t be replicated.
"Obviously one of the greatest to ever touch a basketball, but also his thirst for becoming a better player,” Livingston said. “I think he left Golden State with a sharper IQ and understanding of the game. How to manage a game, how to control a game, how to maybe get more out of your players and your teammates. All the little stuff that actually goes into winning a playoff series and a seven-game series. It's really a chess match in that way.
"Steph and KD. Klay [Thompson] and Draymond [Green]. It just fit like a glove.”
There can be arguments comparing the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics of the 1980s, Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls teams in the 1990s or the Shaq-Kobe Lakers in the 2000s to what the Warriors accomplished in five years, especially the three-year dominance of the Durant era. Debates grow with time. As should treasuring and cherishing memories.
All that remains from those teams are Curry, Kerr and Green. Durant already is on his second team since departing five years ago, and Thompson will be wearing a Dallas Mavericks jersey this upcoming season, and presumably the two after that.
Recognize the greatness, and absurdity, of Curry turning his back on a 3-point shot against not only NBA competition but the rest of the world. Marvel at Durant pulling up and hitting a jumper over any obstacle thrown his way. Let it bring you back to the days of Curry and Durant embarrassing the rest of their NBA competition, and don’t hide your smile at their embrace of going for gold.
Curry is 36 years old. Durant will join him there in September. Their days are nearing the final acts of this magical play in front of our eyes. The memories still can grow in real time.
"Those five years, what a time to be alive if you lived in the Bay,” Livingston says. “And now this time that you get left with 30, enjoy this. Enjoy what you're watching out there. Enjoy the game that's being played, because he's a generational talent for sure."
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