The teams that win championships reach eternity. They are forever etched in history for their glorious journey. But each year, there are sides that defy the odds and break out. This year, the Indiana Pacers had everybody jumping around by making it to the NBA Finals. Another such team was the Brooklyn Nets, which comprised of a star trio unlike ever before. Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden, all in their primes headed by a two-time MVP, Steve Nash as their coach.
It was supposed to be a fairytale ride. However, they are instead remembered for having an ill-fortune with injuries and controversies. Durant still feels that the year his foot barely grazed the three-point arc, they had a “great chance”. As the coach, Nash though, was stuck at a tough impasse.
Because of injuries, their trio was limited to just 16 games together. They won 13, leaving the rest for the postseason. Sadly, Kyrie Irving landed on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s leg, cutting his series short. The Beard had been dealing with a lingering hamstring injury even before that. But Irving’s injury forced Nash to make a risky decision.
“We were injured. James shouldn’t have been playing. He was on one leg, Ky was out, Jeff Green was in and out,” he admitted on Mind the Game.
Of course, Nash did confront Harden before making the call. The former MVP has played through injuries in the past, including in the last season for the Clippers. But even with him hobbled, Durant and Co. managed to force a Game 7 against the eventual champions. In the end, KD’s toe on the line kept him from having a game winner in the ultimate game.
The media has since labelled the team to have underachieved with the personnel they had on the floor. That barely considers the difficulties the 21-22 Nets faced during the course of the decision. And as Steve Nash shared the guilt of not being able to win a championship with that team, Kevin Durant wasted no time defending him.
Kevin Durants values the journey
For someone who looks at basketball the way Kevin Durant does, he isn’t just focused on the winning formula. He’s a student of the game who can find “beauty” in any team’s basketball. Consequently, what he hates is the narratives the media creates around his name and teams. Coming to his story with the Nets, the Slim Reaper thinks the same.
Yes, the team didn’t win a championship. However, their road to the Eastern Conference Semifinals was full of obstacles, which the media seemingly ignore when evaluating them. The focus remains on the glamour of the group.
“I don’t think that should be an indictment on anybody. People don’t understand context, though, man, what truly happens and how you need to really be connected as a group. They just looked at the names and thought it going to be perfect,” he told Nash and LeBron James.
At the end, KD does want to win every chance that he gets. But similar to what the Akron Hammer feels, Durant thinks there’s always a positive to take, even if a team doesn’t have a championship at the end of it.
“The dialogue around the league, the discourse around the league, they don’t truly appreciate the journey sometimes on what goes on. Even the ones that don’t work out. You can still see some beauty in the Sacramento Kings that didn’t win the chip. Or your Phoenix Suns that didn’t win the championship. If you really love the game of basketball, you can pull great things from all of that stuff,” Durant added.
It puts into perspective how slim the odds of succeeding really are. Only one team can win it all at the end of the season. But every other team goes through their individual journeys in the quest to get closer to competing for a championship. Winning is by far the biggest achievement. But ignoring the efforts and sacrifices of those who couldn’t isn’t right either.
The Brooklyn Nets didn’t get over the hump. But they were a special team that went through a series of unforeseen challenges and fell short because of injuries. If not for those things, the result might have been very different. There’s no doubt that they were capable.
The post Steve Nash Admits Risking James Harden’s Career as Kevin Durant Flags Unfair Treatment appeared first on EssentiallySports.