The Warriors and Cavaliers built one of the defining rivalries, meeting in four straight Finals from 2015 through 2018. Even years later, that rivalry still finds a way to resurface. This time, a former Cavs teammate of LeBron James put some of his lost championship opportunities on Kevin Durant.
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Iman Shumpert had no regrets after Kevin Durant fired back at him over a brutal championship accusation. The now-Houston Rockets star, who never backs down against critics, responded but quickly deleted his comment.
“Toughen up, shorty. Thanks for taking care of that, man, Gil; he was dead in the water.” Durant wrote in a comment he subsequently deleted. But deleting it only hyped the back-and-forth. The response was shared by several aggregators on social media, and it reached Shump’s feed.
“I love how petty K is. I said what I said. It’s up to yall to debate who right. #ilovethisgame,” Shumpert wrote on X, after seeing Durant’s response circulate online.
The exchange quickly gained attention because the Cavs star believed Durant’s decision changed the championship picture and cost him two more rings.
Appearing on the Gil’s Arena podcast, Shumpert did not hold back when discussing Durant’s decision to join the Golden State Warriors in the summer of 2016.
“You’re the reason I missed out on two rings, dog. It was your fault how you went and joined some n—-s that didn’t need you. You know what I’m saying? They didn’t need you,” Shumpert said on the show.
The timing of Durant’s move explains why Shumpert’s comments carry so much weight. Cleveland had just beaten Golden State in the 2016 Finals after falling behind 3-1 in the series.
The Cavaliers completed the comeback on the Warriors’ home floor, giving the franchise its first championship. The Dubs, however, had already reached that level without Kevin Durant.
The Warriors won the 2015 championship and followed it with a 73-9 regular season in 2015-16, setting an NBA record at the time. They ultimately lost to Cleveland in the Finals, but their core remained intact entering the summer. Then Kevin Durant arrived. His addition immediately changed the matchup.
Golden State returned to the Finals in 2017 and defeated Cleveland 4-1. Durant dominated the series, averaging 35.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 5.4 assists while winning his first Finals MVP award. The following season, the Warriors swept the Cavaliers 4-0, with Durant again taking Finals MVP.
He averaged 28.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 7.5 assists and finished the series with a 43-point performance in Game 3.
For Shumpert, those two series represent the opportunities that disappeared after Kevin Durant joined Golden State. But his criticism has never erased his respect for KD’s ability. In fact, Shumpert previously spoke about the difficulty of guarding him.
“Kevin Durant. KD’s one of them guys that if you challenged him on the court, like I remember when he was in OKC, he called for a screen on some play or whatever and he got this little dunk. When he was running back he tapped me but you know of course we talking sh*t. At this point I said ‘don’t touch me you always calling for a ball screen, f*ck all that.’ So anyway, right into an iso, and he like ‘alright, you don’t want that? You want it? Come get it.’ Took me over there into an iso and hit some shot. I always respected his game,” Shumpert explained in 2022.
That history adds an interesting wrinkle to their latest exchange. Nearly a decade later, that history has resurfaced in an unexpected way. No Finals series is waiting between them this time. There is only a podcast appearance, a deleted comment and a former champion who still believes Kevin Durant’s decision cost him two rings.
Durant has heard variations of that criticism ever since he joined the Warriors. His two championships and two Finals MVPs ultimately became part of the debate over his decision, while Cleveland’s 2016 title remains the only championship the Cavaliers won during their four-year Finals run.