Steph Curry Has Officially Ended One Of The Most Idiotic Debates Of All Time By Declaring That Kevin Durant Deserved His Two Finals MVPs

Joe Murphy. Getty Images.

I'm not sure if it's the recent "player stan" movement that seems to have taken over social media (especially when it comes to the NBA) or what, but it does feel like, as the years have gone by, there's been an increase "player" fans as opposed to "team" fans. I'll personally never tell anyone how they should "be a fan" or whatever, but I do find that whole thing a bit strange, especially when it comes to your favorite team. People are entitled to enjoy a sport and a team however they want, but that's always been a little weird to me. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about if you've been on the internet during this era of NBA basketball, as it exists with pretty much every team in the league. 

One of the clearest examples of this phenomenon in recent NBA history is the KD Era Warriors. For nearly a decade, you've had Warriors fans going at each other's throats over the two Finals MVPs that KD won in 2017 and 2018. Steph Curry "player stans" raging that their guy didn't win and KD did, whereas you would think everyone would just be happy that the team won. KD "player stans" basically calling Steph a KD merchant and things of that nature. All of it is stupid, all of it is bullshit, but it's unavoidable at this point. Sadly, that's the world we live in nowadays.

I can only imagine how that battle amongst Warriors fans is now going with Steph officially addressing those two Finals MVPs

My guess is they're in shambles, but what I want to know is why this was even a debate in the first place? Is it more that fans might not want to give KD the credit because he was sort of a hired gun for that team, whereas Steph was the franchise legend? Because if we just look at things objectively, KD was clearly more than deserving of both MVPs.

In the 2016-17 Finals, KD led the team with 35.2 points a game (and 8 rebounds and 5 assists as well) on 55/47% splits. This isn't to say Curry wasn't also awesome (26/8/9) in that series against CLE, but it's not an insult to suggest that KD had the better series. He was more efficient while taking more shots, he had fewer TOs, was solid defensively, and hit some of the biggest shots of the series

In the 2017-18 Finals, it was more of the same. KD once again led the Warriors in scoring (28.8), but this time also led them in rebounding (10.8) to go along with 7.5 assists while shooting 52/40% from the floor. That's more points, rebounds, assists, and better shooting splits than Steph, and once again KD hit some of the biggest shots of the series, coincidentally a shot that was eerily similar to one he made the year before to clinch it

Who knows, had Steph not had that tough Game 3 where he went 3-16 (1-10) while KD backpacked to the tune of 43/13/7 in a GS win, maybe he would have won that year, but unfortunately, that's what happened. That performance helped GS secure the 8-point win to take a 3-0 series lead and effectively end the Finals (it was a sweep). Steph had the death blow performance in Game 4 (37 points with 7 3PM), but Games 1&2 could easily have gone to Durant. Steph was a monster in Game 2 and led the Warriors with 33, but in that same game, KD ended up with 26 points on 71/66% shooting (10-14, 2-3).

The point is, when Steph says those KD Finals MVPs were beyond well deserved, he's right. Why that has always been such a high point of contention amongst Warriors fans I'll never understand, plus Steph got his Finals MVP in 2022 (sigh), so who really gives a shit at this point. Also, why does it seem like there was more pushback on KD's awards than when Iggy won his Finals MVP in 2015? That was much more of a screw job in my opinion, but oh well.  

As with any Finals MVP decision, what should ultimately matter is that the team won. It's like how Jaylen Brown won it in 2024 despite Tatum leading the Celts in every category. Both had their moments over the 5 games against DAL, and it basically came down to 1 media vote, so who gives a shit? What matters is that they both carried the Celts over the finish line.  Was it a little weird that Tatum is the only player in NBA history to lead his team in points, rebounds, and assists and not win it? Sure! That's a bit strange, no doubt about it, and feels a little narrative-driven by certain media voters. But at the same time, I don't need Tatum to have a Finals MVP to validate how good he is. I have eyes. We all saw the games and his role in each of the wins. The same way had Tatum won it instead, I wouldn't need Jaylen to then suddenly need to win one of his own in order to tell me how good he is either. Again, that's what the eyes are for.

That's how I basically choose to look at Steph/KD during their time together. So KD got the nod in those two Finals. So what? Not only was it deserved, but it didn't mean that Steph wasn't an all-time great. That was true well before he got one of his own (again, sigh), so it's cool to see Curry finally put an end to that entire debate. 

Frankly, it never should have existed in the first place, but we are living in the dumbest of times, so what can ya do.