Kevin Durant Wanted Stephen Curry To Win 2018 NBA Finals MVP

After making five consecutive NBA Finals appearances with the Golden State Warriors and winning three championships, Stephen Curry was never crowned Finals MVP during those dynastic years from 2014 to 2019.

Curry and the Warriors won their first title in the 2015 NBA Finals, and despite Curry averaging 26.2 points on 44.7% shooting from the field and 40.7% from beyond the arc, Andre Iguodala was named Finals MVP against a LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers squad.

However, James and the Cavs avenged their loss the following season when the two teams met again. The defeat meant Curry had to wait at least another year to have a shot at winning his first Finals MVP.

The Warriors then landed superstar Kevin Durant during the 2016 offseason. Durant helped Golden State make three more consecutive Finals appearances and win two more championships.

Kevin Durant Planned To Make Stephen Curry Finals MVP

While Kevin Durant hoisted the Finals MVP trophy in both 2017 and 2018, the 15-time All-Star may have won the second award by accident, averaging 28.8 points and 10.8 rebounds against Cleveland.

Former NBA guard Quinn Cook, who played for that 2017-18 Warriors championship team, recalled that Durant intended to make Stephen Curry win his first Finals MVP since Durant had just won the award the year prior.

“When we were in Houston and Toyota Center’s going crazy, and they just made a 9-0 run and we needed a bucket, we’re going to Kevin every single time,” Cook said on “The Player’s Choice” podcast.

“And to be honest, Kevin wanted Steph to get that Finals MVP the next year so bad. That’s all he was talking about all season, like I can’t wait until Steph gets his Finals MVP so he can shut up everybody, the naysayers. But I think in Game 2 [of the Finals], that’s when Steph broke the record, he had nine 3s.

“And then Game 3, we were struggling, Steph was struggling, and Kevin just accidentally walked into 40 [points]. And then you just look at the numbers statistically, I think Kevin had a triple-double in Game 4. He wasn’t even as aggressive; that’s just how good he is. He just accidentally got the Finals MVP back-to-back.”

That’s all in the past now. The present is far more important.

Rockets Unlikely To Give Durant Full Max Extension

Earlier this summer, the Houston Rockets acquired Durant from the Phoenix Suns as part of a historic seven-team trade, sending a package headlined by Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks in exchange.

Durant, who turns 37 in September, has a $54.7 million cap hit for his 2025-26 campaign, the final season of a four-year deal worth $194 million that he signed as a member of the Brooklyn Nets in 2021.

While the Rockets are still able to extend Durant at any point and prevent him from hitting unrestricted free agency in 2026, they may not be willing to offer him a two-year, $122 million maximum contract extension.

“The Rockets aren’t gonna go all-in, by all appearances and by what I’ve heard, they’re not going all-in on an extension for Kevin Durant,” ESPN’s Tim MacMahon reported on The Hoop Collective podcast.

“Now, doesn’t mean it won’t happen, but there’ve been rumblings KD’s not gonna push for the full max. I don’t know that the Rockets are going to put anything on the table that’s close to the max. I think the Rockets are — like it’s not ideal — but I don’t think they’d panic if they go into the season with Kevin Durant just on the contract that he’s on, just on the expiring.”