Kevin Durant now officially toxic.

[StepBackCrack]

KD is such an a**.. He just said his all star team has the best 5 players in the world

Talk about toxic..He just never stops

Calm down. He probably just saw the big difference in terms of talent between the 2 teams and said that obvious exaggeration because of it. No way he thinks Steph isn't top 5 if some reporter asks him specifically about Steph. No way. He always been complimentary of him and appreciative of him. This was just a stupid exaggeration.

[lars_rosenberg]

Losing in the finals makes it easier for him to justify leaving.

I would say it's the exact opposite.
Leaving as a three-peater is much easier than running away after a loss.
He's already considered a coward by a lot of haters. Quitting after an unexpected loss (because GSW is still the clear cut best team in the NBA) would be seen as weak and it would impact his brand once again.
MJ left basketball after a three-peat, not after a loss for example and this contributed to make him a legend.

[Mylie10]

Losing in the finals makes it easier for him to justify leaving.

I would say it's the exact opposite.
Leaving as a three-peater is much easier than running away after a loss.
He's already considered a coward by a lot of haters. Quitting after an unexpected loss (because GSW is still the clear cut best team in the NBA) would be seen as weak and it would impact his brand once again.
MJ left basketball after a three-peat, not after a loss for example and this contributed to make him a legend.

Tougher to leave after 3 in a row because no modern era team has won 4 in a row. Not even Jordan.....only the old time Celtics achieved that high water mark.

Add to that the brand new arena opening and it makes it tougher to walk away. They lose and all bets are off.

[Little Digger]

Celtics aren’t the modern era? At what point did they get separated from say the 75 warriors or the 83 76ers?

[KevinMcreynolds]

Celtics aren’t the modern era? At what point did they get separated from say the 75 warriors or the 83 76ers?

There were 8 teams in the league when the Celtics had their run and Russell and Cousy were playing against Maury the neighborhood dentist and Eddie the tax accountant.

The cutoff point should probably be 1970 when I think it went up to something like 16 teams and black players started entering the league.

[ChuckS]

There were 8 teams in the league when the Celtics had their run and Russell and Cousy were playing against Maury the neighborhood dentist and Eddie the tax accountant.

I do not totally disagree, but I think the dominance of the Celts was more attributable to the depth and breadth of talent on their teams, the brilliance of their coach, and a selfless style of beautiful play, not all that dissimilar to that of GS. Even today I would worry about a team that could bring guys like Hondo Havlicek, Sam and KC Jones off the bench.

And we sometimes forget that in addition to Maury and Eddie, they faced some guys who I think worked part time at White Castle or McDonalds, but were still pretty good, like: Chamberlain, Robertson, Mikan, Pettit, Lucas, Baylor, West, Mikkleson, Arizin, Schayes, Neil Johnson, and others.

I've heard about guys like Michael, Magic, Larry, Tim/Karl, Shaq, and others, but I cannot help myself. To this day, the Big O, West, Baylor, and Pettit are still my favorites. I cannot make up my mind about my center. It would probably be Kareem. But I still remember, as a kid, laying across my bed, with my ear an inch from the radio, listening to that Chamberlain game in Hershey, Pa. And then there were those wars with Russell. I get so confused.

[KevinMcreynolds]

I heard Bob Pettit worked the grill at White Castle with the same dedication as his basketball

[Sleepy51]

Celtics aren’t the modern era? At what point did they get separated from say the 75 warriors or the 83 76ers?

The modern era starts with the merger

[Sleepy51]

KD is such an a**.. He just said his all star team has the best 5 players in the world

Talk about toxic..He just never stops

Calm down. He probably just saw the big difference in terms of talent between the 2 teams and said that obvious exaggeration because of it. No way he thinks Steph isn't top 5 if some reporter asks him specifically about Steph. No way. He always been complimentary of him and appreciative of him. This was just a stupid exaggeration.

A reporter actually did ask him about what it was like seeing Klay and Step playing against each aother and he actually raved about their chemistry. His face positively lit up when he talked about how bonded Klay and Step are and how much fun they have competing against each other in practice and even during games. In a not at all jealous way, he really seemed in genuine awe of what Klay and Steph have. It was a fairly unique sort of thing for a player to spend a lot of time talking about. It really stood out.

[ChuckS]

I heard Bob Pettit worked the grill at White Castle with the same dedication as his basketball

Very true! It was hard to "rebound" from eight hours of that with a game the same night.

It was necessary though, because they didn't get enough meal money to afford a hamburger, without an employee discount.