Recently, Kevin Durant went on the record saying that the Philadelphia 76ers are more talented than the Golden State Warriors team he joined 10 years ago. It's hard to agree with him on how different the circumstances alone, but his ex-teammate Draymond Green had a pretty rationale take on why he's wrong on how those two compare.
More than that, the infamous 2018-19 Boston Celtics roster completely reinforce Green's point. On Green's podcast, he explained that Durant's view of multiple 20-point scorers joining forces doesn't fully capture what made those Warriors teams downright impossible to beat at their peak.
Draymond reacts to KD's comments on LeBron joining the Sixers
— The Draymond Green Show (@DraymondShow) August 4, 2026
"You have to understand the way KD view basketball, the way KD view basketball is very Uncle Drew-ish, this game will and always will be about buckets... so he's going to mention the 25-point scorers... He also said… pic.twitter.com/YC3yru9gEG
Green is right for what it's worth. Yes, they combined multiple players who could put up 20 or more on any given night, but they also had multiple guys who cover up so much ground in other facets of the basketball floor - versatility, defense, motion offense among others - that they had all the margins covered.
It's why there are questions about the current iteration of the 76ers. They have plenty of star power primarily because they have quite a few players who can score, but it takes more than that to win a title. Especially in this day and age.
And Durant should know this by now. Every time he has tried to pair up with multiple 20-point scorers, he hasn't come close to replicating the success he had in Golden State.
The 2018-19 Celtics are a clear example of why adding elite scorers isn't so simple
You know why that Celtics team is remembered as badly as it was? Because of the expectations they had going in. It seemed so simply. The Celtics were within inches of making the 2018 NBA Finals without Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward. Two All-Stars in their prime being added to this team? People didn't just think NBA Finals. They thought Banner 18.
And yet, that team never quite figured out how to make it work despite the overabundance of talent on its roster. Despite all the firepower, the team never quite formed its identity because their players couldn't compromise to do the little things to help the team reach its potential.
People weren't wrong about how good the team could have been, but because there was no established hierarchy from start to finish, they fell well short of expectations. It's why Durant's perception of the new and improved Sixers is somewhat shallow, why they seem reminiscent of that Celtics team, and why Green, love him or hate him, is on the money on this one.
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