Before COVID-19 hit the world and the NBA, the Brooklyn Nets were on track to building something great. It’s safe to say that former Nets player Kevin Durant believes the same. He opened up on this after his recent matchup between the Phoenix Suns and the Nets. The Nets had the best trio in the league in Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden. However, their trio just did not work out together on the court.
Harden, Irving, and Durant only played 16 regular season games together. Their tenure together was more well-known for the mayhem off the court than for the outstanding basketball they produced. Durant and Irving teamed up during the summer of 2019.
In January 2021, Harden was acquired through a trade. However, all three suffered from injuries, and Irving missed much of the 2021–22 season due to his refusal to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Injuries. Covid. Us not getting on the court. I think those two were the biggest factors. A lot of people would like to say our attitudes or personalities didn’t mesh well. There are a lot of narratives going around about each individual player about our mentality as men. But once we got on the court and we actually played together… Injuries to me, James, and Kyrie played a factor, along with Covid. That whole thing confused a lot of sh*t.
Kevin Durant told the reporters
Kevin Durant on why the trio with Kyrie Irving and James Harden didn’t win a championship with the Brooklyn Nets:
“Injuries. Covid. Us not getting on the court. I think those two were the biggest factors. A lot of people would like to say our attitudes or personalities didn’t… pic.twitter.com/U0NSfpVwNk
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) January 23, 2025
When all three were healthy for the 2020–21 season, the Nets appeared to be the clear favorite to win the championship. However, in the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals, Harden and Irving suffered injuries, and the Milwaukee Bucks won the series despite being down 2-0 and Durant’s outstanding performance in Game 7.
Fast-forwarding to the present stage, Durant is now with the Suns. His former teammate, Irving plays for the Dallas Mavericks and Harden plays for the Los Angeles Clippers. Durant recently played against the Nets where he scored 24 points, 8 rebounds, and a 4-of-7 3-point shooting percentage in the Suns’ 108-84 win.
Not the FIRST time Kevin Durant spoke about the Nets and his former teammates
Kevin Durant is someone who does not shy away from speaking his mind in the media. He did exactly that in February 2024 when he played at the Barclays Center after being traded by the Nets to the Suns in 2023. Durant doesn’t think about the past a lot.
When Kyrie Irving and James Harden were with him, Durant referred to it as “pointless” to consider what would have happened if things had gone differently last year.
I mean, that’s just a pointless exercise, in my opinion, to think about what could have been. What happened. That’s what I thought about: what actually happened. The reality of it.
Kevin Durant told the media
Kevin. Durant.
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) December 22, 2022
With 33 points, 8 assists, and 5 rebounds in the Suns’ 136-120 triumph last season, the 14-time All-Star had a great homecoming to his old home. According to Durant, the Nets team just “didn’t have enough time together” and ultimately wanted to go their separate ways, despite their efforts to “rescue” the situation before it reached that stage.
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