They were inevitable. Honestly, looking back at 2016, it’s hard to wrap your head around how much the world shifted when Kevin Durant decided to go to the Bay Area. You had a 73-9 team—the greatest regular-season squad ever assembled—adding one of the most efficient scoring machines in the history of the sport. It wasn't just a signing. It was a glitch in the matrix. People were furious. Fans burned jerseys, pundits talked about "ruined legacies," and the rest of the league basically felt like they were playing for second place before the season even tipped off.
The Golden State Warriors Durant partnership lasted only three seasons, but it redefined what we think of as a "Superteam."
The Hamptons Five and the Death of "Fair"
Remember the Hamptons Five? That nickname sounds kinda goofy now, but at the time, it was terrifying. It referred to the meeting in the Hamptons where Andre Iguodala, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green convinced KD to join. When those five shared the floor, the math simply stopped working for the defense. You couldn't double-team Steph because Durant would just rise up for a mid-range jumper. You couldn't help off Klay because he’s arguably the second-best shooter ever.
In their first year together, they went 16-1 in the playoffs. Sixteen and one. The only loss was a Game 4 outlier in the Finals where the Cavs had to hit a ridiculous 24 three-pointers just to keep up.
It was surgical.
Steve Kerr’s motion offense was already beautiful, but Durant added an "emergency button." If the play broke down or the shot clock hit five seconds, you just gave the ball to the seven-footer with a guard’s handle. He’d shoot over whoever was there. It felt like playing a video game with the sliders turned all the way up.
Why the 2017 Team Was Different
Most people group the three years together, but 2017 was the peak. The chemistry was fresh. The ego stuff hadn't really started to seep in yet. Durant was desperate for that first ring, and the Warriors were desperate to redeem themselves after the 3-1 collapse against LeBron.
During that 2017 run, Durant averaged 35.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 5.4 assists in the Finals. He shot 55.6% from the field and 47.4% from deep. Those aren't just "good" numbers; they are historical anomalies. It was the purest version of the Golden State Warriors Durant era because everyone was pulling in the exact same direction.
The Friction Nobody Wants to Admit
Things got complicated. It wasn't all highlights and champagne. By the second and third years, the "joy" Steve Kerr always talked about started to flicker. You could see it on the court. The ball moved a little less. The isolation plays increased.
Draymond Green and Durant’s infamous blow-up on the sidelines in Los Angeles wasn't just a heat-of-the-moment thing. It was a symptom of a larger question: whose team was it?
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The fans loved Steph. They respected Durant, but Steph was the "organic" superstar. KD was the "hired gun." That’s a tough pill for a player of Durant’s caliber to swallow, especially when he’s the one winning Finals MVPs. If you watch the tape from the 2018-19 season, you see a lot of standing around. The offense became "Your turn, my turn." Even though they were still winning, the invincibility felt more like a chore than a celebration.
The Analytics of the "KD Warriors"
If you look at the raw numbers, the efficiency was staggering. According to Cleaning The Glass, the Warriors' offensive rating with Durant, Curry, and Klay on the floor was often in the 98th or 99th percentile of the league.
But there’s a nuance here.
When Steph was off the floor and KD was on, the Warriors played a very different style. It was slower. More deliberate. When KD was off and Steph was on, it was chaos—the "relocation" threes and the split cuts. The genius of the Golden State Warriors Durant years was how Kerr managed to bridge those two identities, at least for a while.
The 2019 Finals and the Bitter End
The way it ended still feels like a fever dream. The calf injury in the Houston series, the weeks of speculation, and then the return for Game 5 of the Finals against Toronto.
Durant played 12 minutes. He scored 11 points. He looked like the best player on the planet for about ten minutes, and then his Achilles popped.
It was a somber moment for the sport. Even the Raptors fans, who were initially cheering, went silent when they realized the gravity of it. That injury didn't just end the Warriors' season; it ended an era. Durant left for Brooklyn shortly after. The dynasty didn't die, as the Warriors won again in 2022, but the "Superteam" version of the Warriors—the one that made the regular season feel like a formality—was gone forever.
What Most People Get Wrong About This Era
People love to say KD "took the easy way out."
But if you talk to basketball purists, they’ll tell you that playing in that system was actually harder for him in some ways. He had to learn to move without the ball. He had to buy into a defensive scheme that required him to be a rim protector. He wasn't just a spectator; he was the defensive anchor during many of their small-ball stretches.
The Golden State Warriors Durant partnership wasn't just about stacking talent. It was a masterclass in how high-IQ players can sacrifice individual stats for the sake of offensive perfection. Durant’s "Gravity" opened up lanes for Steph that never existed before.
It changed the league's geometry.
Teams started hunting for "3-and-D" wings like they were gold nuggets. The Houston Rockets literally built their entire roster for years just to try and beat this one specific team. They failed, mostly because you can't game-plan for three of the best shooters in history sharing a court.
The Legacy of the Move
Today, we see the ripple effects everywhere. The player empowerment movement? Durant’s move to GSW was a catalyst for that. The obsession with "spacing"? Thank the Warriors.
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Even now, in 2026, we look back at those rosters and realize we probably won't see that level of concentrated talent again. The new CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) makes it almost financially impossible for a team to hold onto that many max-contract players. The "Second Apron" rules are essentially the "Anti-Warriors" laws.
Actionable Insights for Basketball Historians and Fans
If you want to truly understand the impact of the Golden State Warriors Durant era, don't just look at the rings. Look at the tape.
- Watch the 2017 Western Conference Finals: Pay attention to how the Spurs (before Kawhi went down) tried to defend them. It shows the only blueprint that ever semi-worked: extreme physical switching.
- Analyze the "Relocation" game: Note how often Durant sets a screen for Curry, only for the defense to panic and leave one of them open. It's a lesson in "Gravity."
- Study the 2018 Rockets Series: This was the only time a team truly pushed them to the brink. It highlights the importance of switchable defense in the modern NBA.
- Compare the 2022 Title to the KD Titles: It helps you realize how much of a luxury Durant was. In 2022, the Warriors had to grind. With Durant, they just executed.
The Durant era was a three-year window where basketball reached a level of aesthetic and statistical perfection that we might never see again. It was controversial, it was loud, and it was undeniably the most dominant force the modern NBA has ever produced. Whether you hated it or loved it, you couldn't look away.