Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson (31) runs back up the court during the first quarter against the Utah Jazz at the American Airlines Center.
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Kevin Durant recently had his say on how the new-look Philadelphia 76ers, with LeBron James and Jaylen Brown joining, is a much better team that the 2016-17 Golden State Warriors were. Durant completed one of the most controversial moves in NBA history when he joined the 73-9 Warriors from the Oklahoma City Thunder to win straight championships in 2017 and 18.
And while KD believes the 2026 76ers are much stronger than the Warriors, Klay Thompson took major issue with his statement, using his Instagram story to respond to the comment.
“Aye man u good ? @easymoneysniper What u using my full government for??” the former Warriors star wrote.
KD had earlier suggested that the 76ers had managed to assemble a much better team. Responding to a post on Instagram, he analyzed the kind of talent Philadelphia now boasts of.
“Ain’t close lmao. Joel, mvp recently. Jaylen Brown, recent finals mvp, Tyrese Maxey, all star the last 3 years. We all know what bron does. Klay Thompson, never a mvp candidate in nothing, 22ppg. Draymond, 14ppg 7 rebounds 6 assist, Steph a mvp just like Joel was. I don’t get how the warriors team is better on paper,” he said.
Brown led the Boston Celtics to the 2024 championship alongside Jayson Tatum, winning the Finals MVP award as his team won the Finals against the Dallas Mavericks 4-1. Tyrese Maxey has been an All-Star in two of the last three seasons, averaging career-bests of 28.3 points, 6.6 assists and 4.1 rebounds last season. Add to that the presence of arguably the greatest player of all time and two-time MVP Joel Embiid, and the 76ers undoubtedly have a stacked roster, and we haven’t even considered VJ Edgecombe, who finished third in ROTY voting last year.
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Durant compared the situation to a Warriors team which boasted of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green alongside a strong bench that also featured the likes of Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston. While the argument can be made that the 76ers are more talented at least on paper, this Warriors roster had just won 73 games the previous season and had qualified for two straight finals.
Hence, the 76ers still need to actually produce results in order to be mentioned in the same breath, and will undoubtedly struggle to recreate the kind of longevity Curry and co. managed during this era, simply because James is unlikely to play more than a couple of seasons. Further, there are obvious reasons why KD will want to downplay that Warriors roster considering the kind of criticism his decision to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder continues to attract even today.
By comparison, James and Brown have joined a team that last played in the conference finals back in the 2000-01 season.