Kevin Durant: 'Obviously our players aren't as good' as before

[DirkLegend41]

[QUOTE]By James Herbert | NBA writer
February 18, 2015 11:32 am ET

Kevin Durant is trying to win a championship with the Oklahoma City Thunder, a task that became more difficult the moment the front office traded James Harden -- now a candidate to follow Durant's footsteps as the MVP -- after reaching the NBA Finals in 2012. The Thunder might have been back there since then if not for a series of untimely injuries, but it's clear that the financially motivated decision has given them less overall talent. That's not something that anyone in Oklahoma City has wanted to acknowledge, but Durant was rather open about the situation (and just about everything else) in an interview with GQ's Zach Baron:

Were the Thunder being loyal to Durant and his teammates when they traded James Harden, two and a half years ago, breaking up the best young core in the league in order to save a few luxury-tax dollars? Has the team ever really given Durant what he needs to win? Durant has been asked this question so many times he may not realize that he's begun answering it honestly. "Players are paid to do their jobs, no matter who's on the court. And as superstars, you gotta lead what you have. You gotta make them better. Some players might be better than others. Some teams might be better than others. You gotta do your job, and you gotta trust that the front office is going to do their job. It's hard, though. You know what I'm saying? Because it's like, shit, I want win. Obviously our players aren't as good as, you know, than they were before. But you have to figure it out."

I like this version of Durant, who said on the weekend he was "done" with being the guy who "got programmed to say the right stuff all the time and politically correct answers." I like that he is able to be honest now. It's clear to anyone watching that Durant has had to carry a bigger load, and it's probably made him an even better player than he would have been otherwise. It's also true, though, that it must be difficult for any star player to just sit back and watch the front office do what it does. While he's not complaining, he is refreshingly acknowledging that it's not necessarily easy to watch other organizations improve when you know you might have missed an opportunity. It's a team game, and Durant has lots of talent around him, but he could have had more.

This and all the talk of "loyalty" will obviously have people speculating about his future. You're no doubt already aware that his free agency is coming up, and that his hometown Washington Wizards will be one of the teams chasing him. Again, from GQ:

And lurking over it all, the question of where he'll be after his contract runs out in 2016. Everyone jockeying for his attention, his devotion, his loyalty. Loyalty being a word Kevin Durant has had to become wise to. He heard the Sterling tapes like everyone else. "When that came out, we was just like, 'Oh, so that's how they feel about us?' " All this rhetoric about team, about loyalty. And then guys like Sterling basically acting in private like their players are property. "When players do stuff that benefits them, they're looked at as unloyal, selfish," Durant says. "But when a team decides to go the other way and cut a player, or not bring him back or not re-sign him, it's what's best for the team, and that's cool. But what we do is frowned upon, you know?"

Don't forget, Kevin Durant was not selfish: He signed a full extension in 2010, no opt-outs. He remembers that, even if no one else does, even as he anticipates the lurking storm of recrimination that awaits him if he doesn't re-up again. "I was loyal. If it comes down to that, I mean: I was. My deal's up in 2016. I'll have been here nine years. I could have easily wanted out. I could have easily not signed the extension after my rookie contract. I could have not played as hard every night. But people tend to forget."

[J Shuttlesworth]

How much help does this guy need? :facepalm

[aj1987]

How much help does this guy need? :facepalm
Probably as much as LeBron.

[Crose]

How much help does this guy need? :facepalm
did you forget to log in to your jt123 account ? :lol

[SugarHill]

Probably as much as LeBron.
which was his joke lol

[edrick]

Superstars can't win alone? No shit.

[aj1987]

which was his joke lol
Shut the **** up, moe.

[RoundMoundOfReb]

Lol dude throwing his teammates under the bus.

[imdaman99]

Speak your mind Slim Reaper. Shit on the front office :applause:

Do what it takes to get a championship there. Instead of being cryptic and making an hour long attention whore of a reality show on where you're going, speak your mind like Kobe did back in the day. Alpha as fk :pimp:

[Hey Yo]

Dude has two other 3x All-NBA players on his team.

No excuses.

[JT123]

did you forget to log in to your jt123 account ? :lol
rent free. :lol
But seriously Durant is straight up bitch made. Already making excuses for his upcoming annual playoff choke. :facepalm I guess having a top 3 player, the league's best shot blocker, and sixth man of the year candidate Dion Waiters isn't enough for this guy.

[swagga]

no washington fan in this thread? you guys should be celebrating. if kd comes to obamacity then you get wall-beal-kd-bigs .. that's a very nice balanced core, would love to see a team like that.

Sad to see KD losing his best years because westbrook has the maturity of ninja turtle and because scott brooks sucks a MEAN dick to keep his job. How this franchise lucked into so much talent and then proceeded to fck it all away is beyond me :wtf:

[Lebronxrings]

In other words " I need more help"!

[dazzer87]

Just when OKC was going to go on a roll for that 8th and 7th spot in the West........FT35 has to talk shit about the team.............CANCER........:facepalm

[oh the horror]

All idiots aside this team is literally WB + Durant and role players.


What significant moves has their front office made outside of completely breaking up what would have been an amazing core of WB, Durant and Harden?



I wouldn't blame either guy if they left. And okc's front office can blame themselves on that one.

[LoneyROY7]

All idiots aside this team is literally WB + Durant and role players.


What significant moves has their front office made outside of completely breaking up what would have been an amazing core of WB, Durant and Harden?



I wouldn't blame either guy if they left. And okc's front office can blame themselves on that one.

Get excited, Westbrook's destined to play for the Lakers.

[Hey Yo]

All idiots aside this team is literally WB + Durant and role players.


What significant moves has their front office made outside of completely breaking up what would have been an amazing core of WB, Durant and Harden?



I wouldn't blame either guy if they left. And okc's front office can blame themselves on that one.
Ask other superstars, coaches GM's etc...if they'd like to have a 25yr old "role player" who's currently a 3X All-NBA 1st team defensive player, leading the league in blocks 2 of the last 3yrs while avg. 14pts 8 boards and 2 blocks.

[Twiens]

Do it Masai! :cheers:

[The_Yearning]

When is he gonna start speaking the truth about Brooks?

Scott Brooks that is...

[sportjames23]

How much help does this guy need? :facepalm


http://i.imgur.com/f16cgdK.gif

[SOD 21]

Kevin Durant is now claiming what Charles Barkley famously did many years ago in his own autobiography that he was somewhat misquoted in that article.

KD is now backtracking from those comments.

[Hey Yo]

Also on Tuesday, a feature in GQ was published with Durant saying,


"And as superstars, you gotta lead what you have. You gotta make them better. Some players might be better than others. Some teams might be better than others. You gotta do your job, and you gotta trust that the front office is going to do their job. It's hard, though. You know what I'm saying? Because it's like, s---, I want [to] win. Obviously our players aren't as good as, you know, than they were before. But you have to figure it out."


Asked what he meant by saying the Thunder's players aren't as good as they were before, Durant said he was misunderstood.


"I think my words were misinterpreted a little bit," he said. "I read that this morning and felt bad, but I was just talking in terms of how the public views our team, like how everybody views us. Everybody talks about the James Harden trade to this day. Obviously, in everybody else's eyes we don't have a player that's a three-time All-Star, leading scorer in the league, you know what I'm saying, so we can't do nothing about that but play. That's what I meant about it. I never wanted to slight my teammates or anybody here, but just from the outside looking in, that's how people view us. That we got worse. But we can't control that. That's what really I was trying to say, so I'm sorry if my words got misinterpreted, but I never want to slight my teammates."

[Roundball_Rock]

Arguably the 2nd best and 3rd best players in the league are on the same team along with an elite interior defender and some other solid role players like Jackson and Waiters. What more does he need?

[dubeta]

So having the most stacked team in the league still isn't enough? :facepalm

[Hey Yo]

Arguably the 2nd best and 3rd best players in the league are on the same team along with an elite interior defender and some other solid role players like Jackson and Waiters. What more does he need?
QFT

[Lebron23]

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2012/0528/nba_a_harden6_cr_576.jpg

[Fudge]

He's right. Outside of him and Russ, this team is absolute dog shit.

If he somehow carries this team to the championship, hell, just the Finals even, dude is Top 15 all-time.

[LoneyROY7]

He's right. Outside of him and Russ, this team is absolute dog shit.

If he somehow carries this team to the championship, hell, just the Finals even, dude is Top 15 all-time.

:cheers:

Agreed. Blake's also automatic top 20 all-time if he leads this current Clippers squad to the Finals.

[Hey Yo]

He's right. Outside of him and Russ, this team is absolute dog shit.

If he somehow carries this team to the championship, hell, just the Finals even, dude is Top 15 all-time.
weak troll, brah

[dubeta]

Don't see why Durant is putting up the early damage control before the playoffs


All he has to do is play like a decent second option and OKC will win the championship

[SamuraiSWISH]

Arguably the 2nd best and 3rd best players in the league are on the same team along with an elite interior defender and some other solid role players like Jackson and Waiters. What more does he need?
Seriously ... it's just this buddy-buddy AAU generation. Bron needed to stack the decks to play competitively the past 5 years. No one wants to own their situation, and just ball. Let the roster chips fall where they may ... even Kobe said he didn't want to be in LA after having to deal with just 2x years of lack of talent. Well, I guess not everyone is competitive enough to just help mold your neck best player the way Mike did.

:pimp:

[JT123]

Seriously ... it's just this buddy-buddy AAU generation. Bron needed to stack the decks to play competitively the past 5 years. No one wants to own their situation, and just ball. Let the roster chips fall where they may ... even Kobe said he didn't want to be in LA after having to deal with just 2x years of lack of talent. Well, I guess not everyone is competitive enough to just help mold your neck best player the way Mike did.

:pimp:
:facepalm Why isn't Mike "molding" any players on the Hornets?
1-9 without Pippen

[dubeta]

:facepalm Why isn't Mike "molding" any players on the Hornets?
1-9 without Pippen

This.


MJ is great and all, but I seriously can't have him as GOAT with that 1-9 record, takes away from his 'legacy'.

[tpols]

So having the most stacked team in the league still isn't enough? :facepalm

You have to compare their stackedness to their competition. Usually having a second option like Westbrook and elite defenders would be enough but when other stars have blake Griffin and better coaching, zbo and Conley, Parker Manu Kawhai and pop, klay bogut and Kerr, Ellis Tyson Parsons and Carlisle etc they really aren't stacked at all right now.

[Roundball_Rock]

:facepalm Why isn't Mike "molding" any players on the Hornets?
1-9 without Pippen

Or in Washington before that. Has MJ ever had a winning season in the pros without Scottie? :oldlol: I know he went 0-2 in baseball and the Wizards, Hornets/Bobcats have been a joke under him. He can't even "mold" an all-star let alone a top 25 all-time player in D.C. or Charlotte. Nor could he "mold" Kukoc--which is why he carried out his annual threat to quit again if Chicago did not retain Pippen when they traded Pippen. He knew what would happen without Pip!

[dubeta]

You have to compare their stackedness to their competition. Usually having a second option like Westbrook and elite defenders would be enough but when other stars have blake Griffin and better coaching, zbo and Conley, Parker Manu Kawhai and pop, klay bogut and Kerr, Ellis Tyson Parsons and Carlisle etc they really aren't stacked at all right now.

By that logic then the Big 3 Heat were not stacked either due to facing stacked teams as well (OKC, Spurs, 2011 Bulls, Celtics, Pacers)

[dubeta]

MJ was the perfect case of 'being in the right place at the right time' Nothing extraordinary about the accomplishments or achievements. Heck he made the playoffs only winning 30 games in the season in his early days, only to get swept.

If MJ was drafted by the Cavs in 2003 in place of lebron people would have forgotten who he was by now.

[SamuraiSWISH]

Wizards had no young physical specimen to mold into something great. They were elder statesmen in the game. Many vets.

Pippen had the physical tools. As many in the Bulls organization have said, including Scottie himself, Jordan imprinted his basketball DNA onto him to mold him in his image.

Plus in Washington MJ was 39 and 40 years old. How's he going to mold players every day in practice as a GM? Use your brain people. MJ would've won all he needed was supplemental support. It wasn't until '91 when Pippen was finally mentally ready. And we all know Scottie isn't any kind of barometer for the reasons for the Bulls success. Dude couldn't get it done with:

Hakeem, and Barkley on the late 90's Houston team.

or

Sheed, Sabonis, S. Smith, Bonzi, Damon Stoudemire, Brian Grant, J. O'Neal on the ULTRA stacked early 2000 Blazer squads.

[Hey Yo]

You have to compare their stackedness to their competition. Usually having a second option like Westbrook and elite defenders would be enough but when other stars have blake Griffin and better coaching, zbo and Conley, Parker Manu Kawhai and pop, klay bogut and Kerr, Ellis Tyson Parsons and Carlisle etc they really aren't stacked at all right now.

KD, Russ and Ibaka, all 3 are All-NBA (2 being top 5 offensively) with Ibaka being a defensive specialist with his scoring also.

Plus a 3pt specialist in Waiters.

STACKED!!

[tpols]

By that logic then the Big 3 Heat were not stacked either due to facing stacked teams as well (OKC, Spurs, 2011 Bulls, Celtics, Pacers)
:oldlol: :facepalm

Derrick rose and Paul George were heats biggest adversaries... the east was shit compared to the west as evidenced by massive disparity in conference win percentages.. Durant has it much much harder right now.

[Roundball_Rock]

Plus in Washington MJ was 39 and 40 years old. How's he going to mold players every day in practice as a GM?

Please. KAJ and Hakeem "mold" players to this day. MJ is the ultimate competitor, whether it is basketball, gambling, Pac Man or ping pong. If he could "mold" players into superstars, or hell, even all-stars he would have done so in Washington or Charlotte. Instead his teams are average at best--a consistent theme in his entire pro sports career except for the periods Scottie was a starter alongside him. He simply can't.

[rapker]

rent free. :lol
But seriously Durant is straight up bitch made. Already making excuses for his upcoming annual playoff choke. :facepalm I guess having a top 3 player, the league's best shot blocker, and sixth man of the year candidate Dion Waiters isn't enough for this guy.

LOL waiters went from a useless scrub in cavs to sixth man of the year candidate in okc?

i guess you just confirmed that big head band scrub makes his teammate worse and KD makes his better? :oldlol: :oldlol:

[dubeta]

:oldlol: :facepalm

Derrick rose and Paul George were heats biggest adversaries... the east was shit compared to the west as evidenced by massive disparity in conference win percentages.. Durant has it much much harder right now.

Who did they beat in the Finals though? Try and downplay whose teams

Its not a situation like the Lakers where they can gang up on a Dwight Howard- led Magic team or beat a Celtics team in 7

fyi the Heat demolished those same Celtics team in 5 games 10 months later, showing how much tougher the league got 2011 onwards

[JT123]

Or in Washington before that. Has MJ ever had a winning season in the pros without Scottie? :oldlol: I know he went 0-2 in baseball and the Wizards, Hornets/Bobcats have been a joke under him. He can't even "mold" an all-star let alone a top 25 all-time player in D.C. or Charlotte. Nor could he "mold" Kukoc--which is why he carried out his annual threat to quit again if Chicago did not retain Pippen when they traded Pippen. He knew what would happen without Pip!
Excellent point about the threats. Each of Jordan's last 3 seasons with the Bulls he threatened to quit again if the team didn't keep Pippen and Phil. Kinda weak for a guy who's competitiveness is supposedly unmatched by any athlete in the history of sports.

[tpols]

Who did they beat in the Finals though? Try and downplay whose teams

Its not a situation like the Lakers where they can gang up on a Dwight Howard- led Magic team or beat a Celtics team in 7

fyi the Heat demolished those same Celtics team in 5 games 10 months later, showing how much tougher the league got 2011 onwards
I never doubted their finals opposition.. there's a reason they only went 2-4 there and were one shot away from 1-4.. while they cruised through the east every year. Durant doesn't have the luxury of being able to build momentum against crap teams and get passes for whole rounds at a time. His team will likely finish as an 8 seed and face better competition than the heat ever did in any first or second round.. he'll any ecf.

2010 Celtics also spanked your boy that year and were still a prime team.. the last year of it.

[JT123]

MJ was the perfect case of 'being in the right place at the right time' Nothing extraordinary about the accomplishments or achievements. Heck he made the playoffs only winning 30 games in the season in his early days, only to get swept.

If MJ was drafted by the Cavs in 2003 in place of lebron people would have forgotten who he was by now.
Bingo. No way in hell MJ wins 6 rings or has a perfect Finals record in any era other than the weak 90's.

[Roundball_Rock]

Excellent point about the threats. Each of Jordan's last 3 seasons with the Bulls he threatened to quit again if the team didn't keep Pippen and Phil. Kinda weak for a guy who's competitiveness is supposedly unmatched by any athlete in the history of sports.

Even before that. It was a condition of his return in 95' that the Bulls not trade Pippen for a young star. Think about it. If he could win with any solid all-star why not trade 29 year old Pippen for a young all-star like Kemp and extend the title window, in theory? He knew he needed Pippen and how good Pippen was--which is why before he considered returning he advised his friend George Karl to trade young Kemp (the Blake Griffin of his era) for Pippen because MJ thought Pippen, the best player in the league at the time according to MJ, would lead Seattle to a guaranteed championship.

Tex Winter himself has said MJ needed Pippen more than vice versa and that Pippen was easy to play with and made his teammates better.

[rapker]

I never doubted their finals opposition.. there's a reason they only went 2-4 there and were one shot away from 1-4.. while they cruised through the east every year. Durant doesn't have the luxury of being able to build momentum against crap teams and get passes for whole rounds at a time. His team will likely finish as an 8 seed and face better competition than the heat ever did in any first or second round.. he'll any ecf.

2010 Celtics also spanked your boy that year and were still a prime team.. the last year of it.

^ that's some common logic that bran stans can't seem to comprehend. momentums matter a lot in NBA - in game, over the season for streaks, and playoffs.

[dubeta]

I never doubted their finals opposition.. there's a reason they only went 2-4 there and were one shot away from 1-4.. while they cruised through the east every year. Durant doesn't have the luxury of being able to build momentum against crap teams and get passes for whole rounds at a time. His team will likely finish as an 8 seed and face better competition than the heat ever did in any first or second round.. he'll any ecf.

2010 Celtics also spanked your boy that year and were still a prime team.. the last year of it.

Nothing more than baseless opinions and zero objectivity :facepalm

No such thing as momentum in the playoffs, each series brings their own type of matchups, defenses, and coaching strategies. Especially in the finals, where you play a team in a different conference which you may have little experience with, hard to bring momentum between rounds.

And when looking at the talent disparity between conferences, its mainly offensive firepower, the East has always historically had the better defenses than the West, from the mid 2000's Pistons, Celtics, Pacers the East has defenses that beat you up and fatigue you far more than West teams. Making it harder to advance each round as the fatigue kicks in.

And the bottom line, in which you have 0 answer for, is that LeBron won in his 2nd year with a championship level supporting cast, while Durant has had Westbrook, Ibaka, and Harden for a few years since 2010, and still a ring looks unlikely. No reason for Durant to stink it up for so long.

[tpols]

No such thing as momentum in the playoffs .

Good night sir.

[plowking]

Dude might be talking about himself.

10 minutes at the all star game and 1-6 FG's.

:oldlol:

[JT123]

Durant doesn't have the luxury of being able to build momentum against crap teams and get passes for whole rounds at a time.
This is straight up stupid. You do realize the 2012 Thunder and 2013 Spurs (the two teams Miami beat) both got to the Finals in fewer games than the Heat. Not only had Miami's Finals opponents gained huge amounts of momentum, but they were also more rested.
You never use any context in your arguments, instead choosing to only focus on the regular season win percentages of each teams opponents. The playoffs are about MATCHUPS. Miami never cruised through the East because other teams always had huge size advantages.

[dubeta]

Dude might be talking about himself.

10 minutes at the all star game and 1-6 FG's.

:oldlol:

yup, and worst part about it is that Durant plays his hardest at the all star game

This is the same guy that complains to refs for fouls at all star games, blatantly trying to statpad

[Lebronxrings]

No way durant is a face of the league. Can't even have a thread on him without lebron being in it. :lol

[dubeta]

This is straight up stupid. You do realize the 2012 Thunder and 2013 Spurs (the two teams Miami beat) both got to the Finals in fewer games than the Heat. Not only had Miami's Finals opponents gained huge amounts of momentum, but they were also more rested.
You never use any context in your arguments, instead choosing to only focus on the regular season win percentages of each teams opponents. The playoffs are about MATCHUPS. Miami never cruised through the East because other teams always had huge size advantages.

Don't worry yourself, guy is a Kobe troll trying to cover up as an objective poster

Got exposed, now ran away.

[JT123]

Nothing more than baseless opinions and zero objectivity :facepalm

No such thing as momentum in the playoffs, each series brings their own type of matchups, defenses, and coaching strategies. Especially in the finals, where you play a team in a different conference which you may have little experience with, hard to bring momentum between rounds.

And when looking at the talent disparity between conferences, its mainly offensive firepower, the East has always historically had the better defenses than the West, from the mid 2000's Pistons, Celtics, Pacers the East has defenses that beat you up and fatigue you far more than West teams. Making it harder to advance each round as the fatigue kicks in.

And the bottom line, in which you have 0 answer for, is that LeBron won in his 2nd year with a championship level supporting cast, while Durant has had Westbrook, Ibaka, and Harden for a few years since 2010, and still a ring looks unlikely. No reason for Durant to stink it up for so long.
:applause: tpols owned again. There is no such thing as momentum going from one round to another, but if there was then the 2012 Thunder and 2013 Spurs should have swept the Heat.

[Graviton]

Idk why some people get perma banned while others get to pollute the forum with all their alts, and make it so obvious while they are at it.

:whatever:

[J Shuttlesworth]

Anyone think it's an odd coincidence that the same day Durant shows his true beta colors, poster Dubeta gets unbanned? :lol

[RoundMoundOfReb]

Nothing more than baseless opinions and zero objectivity :facepalm

No such thing as momentum in the playoffs, each series brings their own type of matchups, defenses, and coaching strategies. Especially in the finals, where you play a team in a different conference which you may have little experience with, hard to bring momentum between rounds.

And when looking at the talent disparity between conferences, its mainly offensive firepower, the East has always historically had the better defenses than the West, from the mid 2000's Pistons, Celtics, Pacers the East has defenses that beat you up and fatigue you far more than West teams. Making it harder to advance each round as the fatigue kicks in.

And the bottom line, in which you have 0 answer for, is that LeBron won in his 2nd year with a championship level supporting cast, while Durant has had Westbrook, Ibaka, and Harden for a few years since 2010, and still a ring looks unlikely. No reason for Durant to stink it up for so long.

#Ether

[tpols]

This is straight up stupid. You do realize the 2012 Thunder and 2013 Spurs (the two teams Miami beat) both got to the Finals in fewer games than the Heat. Not only had Miami's Finals opponents gained huge amounts of momentum, but they were also more rested.
You never use any context in your arguments, instead choosing to only focus on the regular season win percentages of each teams opponents. The playoffs are about MATCHUPS. Miami never cruised through the East because other teams always had huge size advantages.

The amount of games you play =/= how tough your competition was.


If that were the case the 2011 Mavs who faced a tough portland team with a last year clutch Brandon Roy, the Lakers and the Durant Westbrook harden thunder two without hca would be as tough as the bobcat after their all star center got hurt, the old nets, and the disgruntled pacers.. all WITH hca.

That comp ain't close.. but games played is equal. You do the math. If you can.

You know.. it's really pathetic that you have three accounts man.. why do you need to do that? I kind of feel bad for you. You generate traffic for this site which is why they keep you around.. and I'm worried you're impaired in some way and I'm arguing with someone who can't help themselves

[JT123]

The amount of games you play =/= how tough your competition was.


If that were the case the 2011 Mavs who faced a tough portland team with a last year clutch Brandon Roy, the Lakers and the Durant Westbrook harden thunder two without hca would be as tough as the bobcat after their all star center got hurt, the old nets, and the disgruntled pacers.. all WITH hca.

That comp ain't close.. but games played is equal. You do the math. If you can.

You know.. it's really pathetic that you have three accounts man.. why do you need to do that? I kind of feel bad for you. You generate traffic for this site which is why they keep you around.. and I'm worried you're impaired in some way and I'm arguing with someone who can't help themselves
Accusing everyone who's ethered you of being the same person, the ultimate white flag move. :oldlol: No need for me to attempt to debate anymore.

[RoundMoundOfReb]

Ask Jeff to check my IP. I'll allow it. This is my only account on here

[oh the horror]

"No such thing as momentum in the playoffs"



When someone says something like this do you just walk away from them or slap them? I can't decide.

[T_L_P]

All idiots aside this team is literally WB + Durant and role players.

So, the 03 Lakers, who were a title-or-bust team too (but were actually fatigued from going to 3 straight Finals)?

This shit is getting old. The 2012 Thunder were favourites going into the Finals, they just collectively choked.

Choked away the final two games last year with Ibaka (and the Spurs were without Parker for one of those games).

[Graviton]

tpols said "3 people"...3 recent LeBron Family posters = me, dubeta, JT123
Pretty sure he meant Dubeta, JT123, Lebronxrings. The obvious ones.

[tpols]

tpols said "3 people"...3 recent LeBron Family posters = me, dubeta, JT123

I meant lebronxrings, dubeta and jt...

Buuut.. it's worse than I thought.. I think we all need some time off.

[Spurs5Rings2014]

Choked away the final two games last year with Ibaka (and the Spurs were without Parker for one of those games).

Wouldn't really call that last game choking. Game went into overtime, Duncan just proved why he was a top 5 GOAT in the clutch.

:confusedshrug:

[Bobcats2013]

Nawwww KD you just aren't as good.

KD in '12 > The Servant in any year

[lilteapot]

KD really needs to just shut up

[JohnFreeman]

One of the worst MVPs in league history

[ROCSteady]

KD is coming home to DC...


The moon feels it just like I do.

PG Wall
SG Beal
SF Durant
PF Humphries
C Gortat

[mehyaM24]

Please. KAJ and Hakeem "mold" players to this day. MJ is the ultimate competitor, whether it is basketball, gambling, Pac Man or ping pong. If he could "mold" players into superstars, or hell, even all-stars he would have done so in Washington or Charlotte. Instead his teams are average at best--a consistent theme in his entire pro sports career except for the periods Scottie was a starter alongside him. He simply can't.
:applause:

jordan was a great player, but using these posters' logic, pippen was the guy who had more success without jordan than the other way around. pippen never went 1-9 in the playoffs to start his career NOR did he miss the postseason with teams outside of chicago - that was jordan

[oh the horror]

:applause:

jordan was a great player, but using these posters' logic, pippen was the guy who had more success without jordan than the other way around. pippen never went 1-9 in the playoffs to start his career NOR did he miss the postseason with teams outside of chicago - that was jordan



He started his career with Jordan.


Then he went to other teams that needed an extra piece to contend as he didn't have to be a main focal point at that stage in his career. Stop BSing context bro. You aren't writing to children here.