Jeff Teague Says Warriors' Dynasty Run Would Not Happen Without Kevin Durant

The Warriors historically won three championships in five straight visits to the NBA Finals between 2015 to 2019. After the Cavaliers pulled off a historic upset in 2016, the Warriors added Kevin Durant to their roster. 

Jeff Teague, the former NBA champion, now claims that the Cavaliers essentially forced the Warriors to add more firepower to their team just because the Cavaliers were much better constructed as a roster than the Warriors. 

On the latest episode of the Club 520 podcast, Jeff Teague spoke his mind on the Warriors and Cavaliers' historic rivalry. He started by giving the Warriors their flowers with Kevin Durant. 

“They are probably the greatest team of all time. They got two bona fide Hall of Famers, top 20 on everybody's list, probably in basketball history. Arguably one of the greatest scorers." 

"Got the best three-point shooter and then the second greatest three-point shooter on some people's list in Klay Thompson. Then you got an all-defensive world player in Draymond Green. Probably make the Top 10 in defensive players of all time.”

“Then you got a top 25 defender in Andre Iguodala. Yeah. Then you got a top 50 sixth man of the year in Sean Livingston. He ain't never won sixth man of the year, but you know what I mean…. That KD team was crazy.”

Teague's co-hosts followed up to claim that the Warriors were forced to make the move for Kevin Durant after they realized that they could not beat the Cavaliers again without him. 2016's NBA Finals were essentially a glimpse of what the team could have accomplished if not for Kevin Durant. 

“Yeah, but n****s don't understand the Cavs team was better than the Warriors team. Yeah. Without KD, they're better, bro. Think about it. You got two No. 1 picks on your team [Kyrie Irving and LeBron James]. Steph and Klay, they’re nobody y'all Bron and Kyrie were supposed to be this. Steph and Klay weren't supposed to be this," said Teague. 

The former NBA champion then goes on to explain how the Cavaliers had a lot more talent on their first team in 2016. Kyrie Irving and LeBron James were both No. 1 picks. Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson were both top-five picks in their respective drafts. J.R. Smith was a high-level first-round pick as well. 

I do not concur with this analysis, as the Warriors were coming off a historic 2016 season where they recorded the most wins by any team in a single regular season (73-9). Therefore, they were not desperate to add more talent to their team. It was just a brainchild of Jerry West and Stephen Curry, who wanted to capitalize on Durant becoming a free agent after the 2016 season. 

Even without Durant, the Finals series might not have become as one-sided as it did eventually, as the Warriors would still have a fighting chance. Let's not forget, the Warriors took a 3-1 lead in the 2016 Finals with their old roster. One more win would have completely changed the narrative and history of this team.