The Golden State Warriors have been the best team in the league for arguably the last three seasons. They've managed to win two of the last three NBA championships, and have arguably two of the top ten players in the league on their team. Even more damaging for opponents is that, in all, they have a total of four All-Stars. It's the same corps group that led the team to 207 total regular season victories, and, with the addition of superstar forward Kevin Durant last season, the Warriors have solidified themselves as a true dynasty.
Although Golden State is clearly the most talented team in the NBA with KD on the roster, the team was able to win a title without him with Steph Curry as the head of the snake.
However, many NBA fans wondered if the Warriors would have truly beaten LeBron James' Cavs if Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love were playing. Then there was the 2016 NBA Finals, where Cleveland defeated GS in seven games. The victory really made it tough to give the Warriors the clear nod in the battle of the best teams in the league.
KD has struggled to take the crown from "King James" throughout his entire career. Now that Durant has finally won an NBA title, many believe he is now worthy of the recognition. The next big question regarding KD is: Who is now more important to the Warriors' dynasty between him and Steph Curry?
Steph Curry (a.k.a. 'The Chef')
One edge that Steph Curry has over KD in the argument is that he's played his entire career with Golden State.
Since being drafted in 2009, Curry has been the face of the franchise. They even got rid of Monta Ellis, who many saw as the franchise player prior to the arrival of Steph. Since then, he's gone on to take the league by surprise and shoot the ball at a level that the NBA has never seen before. He won back-to-back MVP awards in the 2015 and 2016 seasons, and he has been the head honcho of a team that has won two championships in the last three years.
In the season he led GS to an NBA record 73 wins, Curry led the league and averaged a career-high 30.1 ppg. Over the last three seasons, he's averaged a total of 26.4 ppg and he has an amazing career three-point shooting percentage at 43.8 percent. That percentage ranks second on the all-time NBA list. Curry is the driving force of the Warriors, though, both he and Durant have never been afraid to take the big shot when the game is on the line.
However, Curry has put more time in with the team and is ultimately the head of the snake. He's already proven he can win an NBA title without a guy as talented as Kevin Durant on the roster. KD has yet to prove that he can do so without a guy like Curry on the roster. With a career playoff average of 26.2 ppg, it's safe to say Steph has always shown up when his team has needed him the most.
Kevin Durant (a.k.a. 'Easy Money Sniper')
It's obvious that Durant has not spent much time with the Warriors, having only played one season so far. But in that one season, he showed up and did exactly what NBA fans expected. He won his first NBA title and brought the trophy back to Golden State in the process.
As much as it was expected, that doesn't mean that it was an easy thing to accomplish. His toughness and will to win was never questioned throughout the entire 2017 playoffs.
His shot in Game 3 of the Finals, will go down as one of the most liberating in NBA history. It also gave the Warriors a commanding 3-0 lead against a talented Cavaliers team. In the end, Durant was crowned the Finals MVP, which is something teammate Steph Curry has yet to achieve. He played such a key role that it makes you wonder if the Warriors would have really defeated the Cavs if KD was not there.
The verdict
Durant proved to be the x-factor the team needed to gain some clear separation from Cleveland. He and Steph Curry ultimately share the same level of importance for the Warriors.
Their games compliment each other better than any other duo in the league because of their ability to hit shots at a high-rate. The only difference is, KD can do all the things Steph can with a much larger frame. The Warriors will need both players in order to remain the best team in the league.
