#28 The Sweet Summer of '16

Carter Pearson: J.D. –  

Sorry for the long delay, I had some scary stuff happen. But, like is now better and I am ready to talk basketball.

Let's talk about someone that hasn't been in the news at all this summer, Kevin Durant. Basketball supernova, sporter of a long goatee, and, according to a questionable meme I saw this week, the longest-tenured NBA player who has never had a serious girlfriend. Easy Money Sniper is a real lone ranger. Except when it comes to teammates. He loves teaming up. This may have come up in discussions of his #legacy. People are probably familiar. KD is the NBA equivalent of a Walt Whitman poem. ‍

Do I contradict myself?

Very well then I contradict myself,

(I am large, I contain multitudes.)

Only his galaxy-brained (current and potentially former) teammate comes close. He also hasn't been in the news this summer. Nope, not at all.

Are we getting weird in this edition? Yes, yes we are. We are rewinding to the summer of 2016. Picture a halcyon era when TikTok didn't exist and Bronny James was a mere 12 years old. Still a projected first-round pick. A real bucolic, wholesome time in all of our lives.

That summer, 2 of the biggest shots (or series of shots) in NBA history occurred. I'm providing zero context here.

• Game 6 – Thunder vs. Warriors – Klay Thompson goes off for 11 threes and 41 points
• Game 7 – NBA Finals – Kyrie hits a pretty-important 3 pointer

I'd like to discuss both shots (or series of shots) in-depth because they created the current NBA. If these events change, even slightly, about 8 of the 10 most famous (famous, not best) players in the NBA have wildly different legacies.

I leave it to you to decide where we begin.

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J.D. Crabtree: I'm nervous to write about Durant because he has the ability to consume more armchair analysis and hot takes than the entire league combined, so if we stay on his good side long enough he might guest tweet for The Mid Range. #influencermarketing

Those are the first two important shots ever made. Craig Ehlo might disagree, but in this warped edition it has been written.

They both have incredible weight because it gave solace to one small market franchise, and ripped it away from another.

I'll start with Klay's Game 6 due to the subtle darkness it spread into the opposition's locker room. As the final buzzer sounded both Durant and Westbrook's egos took a step in a direction that was above and away from the Thunder. Their simultaneous thoughts: Not only can I not win in this city, but I can't win with that other guy putting up 30 shots.

Whether either immediately left or stayed a few more years, both obtained personal wrecking balls to prove to the world things we weren't forcing them to prove quite yet. If anything a decent portion of basketball society was interested in a prime Oklahoma City franchise attempting more times. Who wouldn't want a reincarnation of the '90s Eastern Conference teams duking it out with their franchise superstars year in year out?

Instead we sprinted towards the peak of player movement and Twitter pressure. I am not going to go full Boomer, but that shot led us to a monopolistic shift in Western Conference power that no one asked for. Harden continued to max out his shots in Houston and lower Houston's ceiling. Westbrook did the same in OKC. Durant chased a ring with the team that bested him and had the only semblance of upper tier team ball.

Instead of more great battles we received more of something we already knew: Steph, Klay, and Draymond are great at basketball together. Insert any other all star into the lineup, and the end result of the season is the same.

Should Golden State have thrown that series to keep OKC intact? And give the league more parity?

Carter Pearson: Given Draymond just punched a guy, I’m nervous to write about him too.

First things first. I think Durant going to the Warriors was a good thing for basketball viewers, but not for the NBA. *ducks* While you could have plugged any hood player into that team and waltzed to a title, Durant is different. He’s a skeleton key. He’s the best scoring forward ever and he also likes to move the ball and spot up. He doesn’t have to hold it and jab for 13 seconds like a mini-Kobe (cough, Kawhi). And, for like 3 playoff series in 2017, he was the best defensive center in the league. He and Draymond together were terrifying. Seeing that level of basketball nirvana reached was worth it to me.

I’ve been listening to 22 Goals, an incredible podcast about the history of the World Cup by Brian Phillips. Everyone should listen to it. It’s an amazing series of essays that combines sports and culture in a way that I can only aspire too. That Warriors team was like ‘98 France. Steph is clearly Zidane (game changing cultural icon). Draymond is Patrick Vieira (hot headed, mostly defensive but will fuck you up on the fast break), Klay Thompson is Lillian Thuram. No one know who that is, but he’s a graceful defender who also was somehow the 3rd leading scorer in the whole tournament. Then they add KD who is as close to Thierry Henry as a basketball player will get. All grace, speed, strength and skill, with some flair and an IDGAF energy when he clearly GAFs.

Again, that team made all the bad energy that came after it totally worth it to me.

The Westbrook point is suuuuuper interesting to me. Russ was always, umm, combustible. But his MVP season is when he truly reached “let Russ be Russ” levels of crazy usage that have ultimately led to his downfall. If KD stays, does he evolve into a more functional teammate? If you truly become more of yourself as you age, then maybe not.

What do you think? Did playing solo to adoring fans actually ruin Russ? ‍

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J.D. Crabtree: Just received a history lesson on '90s soccer I didn't realize I needed. Side note, Lillian Thuram sounds like a sharp-shooting Euro prospect that gets taken in the second round and the draft analysts scramble for notes as us viewers squint at grainy film.

To answer your question, yes it ruined him. Harden is actually a sneaky good passer. So I want to emphasize they took similar routes, but Harden always had it in him. Was just feeling himself in the Houston strip club scene too much. Russ lived long enough to become the villain.

Maybe he would have evolved into a more functional teammate. However my vote is this was the player he was all along, and the other four players wearing his colors were just in his way as the defense was. NBA Twitter is having too good of a time roasting him, most of it deserving. He is struggling with this chapter of his career when other older players read the room. I don't see it trending in the altruistic direction at any point. His decision, not ours.

Talk to me about Kyrie's Game 7 3 pointer. How did that create the NBA?

Carter Pearson: I think it’s a pretty simple breakdown.

If Kyrie misses that and the Warriors win, so don’t have:

KD to the Warriors;

Russ going insane for a season in OKC causing him to lose the remaining semblance of “point guard” within him;

Kyrie leaving the Cavs for the Celtics then the Nets then the Republican Party;

LeBron winning a Cleveland title and his GOAT argument evaporates;

Unless he chooses to stay in Cleveland and never come to the Lakers;

Anthony Davis remains a Pelican or is traded to the Celtics for Jaylen Brown and picks;

The Warriors don’t ever “return” to the promised land because they never left and maybe have 5 rings already;

And like 1000 other things I forgot.

Also, Draymond never punches Jordan Poole.

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Fin.

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J.D. Crabtree: Dunk you very much.