Kevin Durant Thought Stephen Curry Was Pissed Off When He Joined The Warriors

Kevin Durant shocked the basketball world when he decided to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder and join the Golden State Warriors in 2016. While Warriors players were overjoyed by the decision, Durant thought for a time that Stephen Curry was pissed off.

A Redditor shared an excerpt from Curry's new book "Shot Ready," which is set to officially release on Sept. 9, where the Warriors superstar revealed that he was on a family vacation when the move was announced.

"On July 4, when he announced his decision to join Golden State, I was in Hawaii on a family vacation. K tried to call me before he told the world, but with the time difference from the East Coast, I was still asleep by the time he announced. Half the day—and half the news cycle—had passed before I even knew what was going on."

It was around 5:38 a.m. in Hawaii when Durant made the announcement, and Curry was fast asleep. Quite a few hours had passed before he finally became aware of the decision, and that led to Durant thinking something was wrong. When the two did connect later, he told Curry that he thought he was upset about him joining.

"I thought you were pissed off when you didn't call me back," Durant said.

Curry had been part of the Warriors' entourage that had headed over to the Hamptons to convince Durant to join them. He would have never made that trip if he were against this move.

Still, you can understand why Durant might have felt Curry didn't really want him on the team. The Warriors were his team, and he possibly was going to have to take a backseat to the newcomer. Curry didn't mind that, though. He just wanted to win, and they'd do a lot of winning with Durant.

The Warriors won back-to-back NBA titles in 2017 and 2018. They set a new NBA postseason record by going 16-1 in 2017 and were simply unstoppable.

Durant was the one leading the charge in the postseason, as he won Finals MVP on both occasions. The partnership certainly paid off for both parties, and they would have three-peated, if not for injuries.

Durant suffered a calf injury in the 2019 Western Conference Semifinals against the Houston Rockets. He then tore his Achilles tendon when he returned in Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors would win the series in six games, and it would prove to be Durant's last with the Warriors.

Despite having great chemistry with Curry, Durant left for the Brooklyn Nets in the following offseason. In three seasons with the Warriors, he ended up averaging 25.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game.

Curry and the Warriors have certainly won the breakup, at least as of now. They won another title in 2022, while Durant hasn't even gotten to the Conference Finals since leaving. His last season with the Phoenix Suns was especially painful to watch.

The Suns finished 11th in the West in 2024-25 with a 36-46 record. Amid their struggles, the Warriors attempted to trade for Durant, but he shut it down. Curry even reached out to his former teammate to convince him to return, but he wasn't interested.

Durant has spoken about his decision to veto that trade to the Warriors. The 36-year-old stated he didn't want to move mid-season and made it clear he was going to end his career on his own terms.

Durant was ultimately traded to the Rockets this offseason, and they look like one of the best teams in the West now. Will the 15-time All-Star finally break through and win his third title in Houston? Only time will tell.