Draymond Green Torches Skip Bayless’ ‘Kevin Durant Saved Warriors’ Take With Stephen Curry’s 2022 Finals MVP

Despite winning four NBA championships, the legacy of superstar point guard Stephen Curry is always a matter of debate.

Draymond Green Torches Skip Bayless’ ‘Kevin Durant Saved Warriors’ Take With Stephen Curry’s 2022 Finals MVP

Skip Bayless, Stephen Curry, and Draymond Green (Image via FirstSportz)

In Short
  • Draymond Green challenged Skip Bayless' claim that Kevin Durant saved Stephen Curry's legacy by highlighting Curry's 2022 Finals MVP.
  • Bayless acknowledged that Curry's 2022 performance re-established him as one of the NBA's best players.
  • The Warriors face challenges in their pursuit of another championship, with injuries impacting their chances next season.

Draymond Green and Stephen Curry have four championships to their credit, with two of them coming when Kevin Durant was part of the Golden State Warriors.

The latter faced a lot of flak for signing with arguably the best team, but did not seem to care, as he wanted to become a champion. He could have made it three if not for his torn Achilles tendon that helped the Toronto Raptors win their first.

To this day, two narratives continue to engulf any conversation surrounding the legacies of either of those three players, as well as LeBron James.

The what-ifs are surreal, as Durant’s move completely changed the league’s landscape and left many wondering if the latter did help Green and Curry win two more than they deserved.

With just Steph, I don’t think he would’ve gotten past LeBron those two times that you did. Kevin just blew me away in those finals, because he was not afraid… Steph still, he’s a little guy by basketball terms. He can only do so much. I believe you guys were gonna lose without him.

Skip Bayless said

The longtime analyst essentially doubled down on his original view when Draymond Green asked him point-blank on his show. Bayless believes that the Slim Reaper’s phenomenal performances in the 2017 and 2018 Finals were the sole reason the Warriors won two more rings.

Draymond Green counters Kevin Durant argument with Stephen Curry reference

Naturally, Draymond Green has always argued against the opinion that Kevin Durant saved his, the Warriors, and primarily Stephen Curry’s legacy. However, to counter Skip Bayless’s above argument, he had to bring something up.

So then what does 2022 then do for Steph’s legacy?

Draymond Green countered

As soon as the former Defensive Player of the Year said this, the crowd listening to these two speak cheered. After initially fumbling for words, Bayless replied:

It put it back on the map. It was saving grace. I think we all needed to see that he could do that, then.

Skip Bayless said

Even though he was struggling to put the words together, the 74-year-old managed to acknowledge that the 2022 NBA Finals were the moment when Stephen Curry re-established himself as one of the best to ever do.

He has had some incredible ‘clutch’ moments since then, such as the Paris Olympics, where he single-handedly helped Team USA get past the semi-final stage and also win the gold medal.

Ironically, that was despite having LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and some of the best NBA stars as his teammates. However, Skip Bayless and Draymond Green stuck to the NBA narrative.

Another championship could cement Stephen Curry’s legacy

No matter what Draymond Green does, the narratives surrounding the 2017 and 2018 championships will always be a talking point whenever one tries to sum up Stephen Curry‘s legacy.

Stephen Curry's heroics will not be enough this season
Stephen Curry’s heroics will not be enough this season (Image via Barstool Sports/X)

That would greatly change if the superstar point guard leads the Golden State Warriors to another championship. Even though the Warriors struggled this season, the plan was to eventually fight for it.

However, Jimmy Butler‘s season-ending injury ended any real chance of that happening. Even though they traded for Kristaps Porzingis, they still need enough time to build chemistry and figure out how to maximize each other’s talents.

Next year would be a sensible target, as not only will their newly acquired center have time to fully recover, but Butler would also be back. Again, injuries could shatter their hopes. But still, their chances of winning next year are higher.

With competition at its peak in the Western Conference, and their two-time league MVP point guard getting older, the Warriors cannot afford not to have enough firepower when going up against the best.

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