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DENVER, CO – NOVEMBER 10: Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) smiles and high fives Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) after hitting a three pointer and getting fouled on the play during the third quarter against the Denver Nuggets November 10, 2016 at Pepsi Center. (Photo By John Leyba/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
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DENVER, CO – NOVEMBER 10: Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) smiles and high fives Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) after hitting a three pointer and getting fouled on the play during the third quarter against the Denver Nuggets November 10, 2016 at Pepsi Center. (Photo By John Leyba/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
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DENVER, CO – NOVEMBER 10: Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) smiles and high fives Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) after hitting a three pointer and getting fouled on the play during the third quarter against the Denver Nuggets November 10, 2016 at Pepsi Center. (Photo By John Leyba/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
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DENVER, CO – NOVEMBER 10: Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) smiles and high fives Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) after hitting a three pointer and getting fouled on the play during the third quarter against the Denver Nuggets November 10, 2016 at Pepsi Center. (Photo By John Leyba/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
Kevin Durant and Steph Curry both made their returns to the NBA on opening night. Durant put on his Nets jersey for his first official game with them. And it was fitting that his first game came against his former team, the Golden State Warriors.
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Before the game, however, two friends and former teammates linked up. Durant and Curry had a nice interaction before the game and gave each other a hug and had a chat. It is nice to see that the two teammates are still close friends, despite Durant’s scrutinized departure from the Warriors.
Durant and Curry joined forces in 2016 after the Warriors squandered a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers. In the Western Conference Finals, Durant and the Thunder had a similar 3-1 lead over the Warriors and squandered their lead in a similar fashion.
Reunited @StephenCurry30 🤝 @KDTrey5
🎥: @warriorspic.twitter.com/lgTW2uqWjl
— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) December 22, 2020
Durant’s move to the Warriors was heavily criticized. Many analysts accused KD of taking the easy way out and ‘ring-chasing’. It was especially bad because Durant had a chance to beat the Warriors, but couldn’t do it.
When Durant joined the Warriors, it disrupted the balance of power in the entire NBA. At full strength, the Warriors were practically unbeatable. Durant and Curry, along with the rest of the Warriors, went to the NBA Finals for three years consecutively.
Kevin Durant and Steph Curry are still friends
In their first two seasons together, Curry and Durant won back-to-back NBA championship, trouncing LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in five and four games, respectively. For his performances in the Finals, Durant won two NBA Finals MVP awards.
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DENVER, CO – OCTOBER 21: Stephen Curry (30) of the Golden State Warriors and Kevin Durant (35) question a call to a referee during the first half agains the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, October 21, 2018. The Denver Nuggets hosted the Golden State Warriors at the Pepsi Center in Denver. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
In his third season with the Warriors, Durant was plagued with injuries. Especially during their playoff run, Durant missed a significant amount of time. Before the NBA Finals, Durant suffered an injury that seemingly ruled him out of the Finals against Toronto.
However, Durant chose to play in the series, at his own risk. While he started the game off strong, he suffered a debilitating Achilles injury. This injury ruled him out for the entirety of the 2019-20 NBA season.
In the off-season, Durant joined the Nets. And today he made his official debut for the Nets, in a blowout win over the Warriors. But still, there are no hard feelings between the two former champions.