KD applauds Keyshawn Johnson for minimizing the Warriors’ impact originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
Kevin Durant’s tenure with the Warriors caused a lot of controversy over the years, but the 14-time NBA All-Star will seemingly never stop defending himself.
This was no different on Monday, in response to a viral video circulating on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, of former NFL wide receiver turned FS1 analyst Keyshawn Johnson downplaying Durant’s impact on Golden State.
“If I put Paul Pierce on the Golden State Warriors with Klay Thompson, Draymond [Green] and Steph Curry, don’t you think he could do the same shit [as Durant]?”
And as expected, it didn’t take long for Durant to respond.
“If the Jets had taken Jonathan Ogden, Marvin Harrison, Ray Lewis or Eddie George at No. 1, they would be better off… I hate comparisons,” Durant wrote.
If the Jets had taken Jonathan Ogden, Marvin Harrison, Ray Lewis or Eddie George number 1, they would have been better off… I hate comparisons https://t.co/3N6ngC1C3H
-Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) July 29, 2024
Of course, Durant is referring to the New York Jets selecting Johnson with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1996 NFL Draft, ignoring several future Hall of Famers in Ogden, Harrison, Lewis and others.
But Johnson’s argument raises a few more eyebrows.
Durant joined the Warriors and helped lead them to three consecutive NBA Finals appearances and winning two. He was two-time NBA Finals MVP with Golden State and averaged 25.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.4 assists in three seasons in the Bay Area.
Critics can judge Durant’s move to the Bay everything they want, but one thing that’s hard to deny is the impact he had on winning alongside Golden State’s Big Three.