Klay Thompson Responds to KD's Claim Involving 2017 Warriors Star Players

On Monday, Kevin Durant claimed that the 2026 76ers are as good as the 2017 Warriors on paper, and to support his argument he compared himself, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green to Philly's Big Four of Joel Embiid, LeBron James, Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown.

I explained here why his comment could be taken as a subtle dig at Curry, Thompson and Green.

It seems Thompson took it that way.

"Aye man u good?" Thompson commented on Durant's post. "What u using my full government name for?"

Durant wrote in his his Instagram post that Thompson was "never a MVP candidate in nothing" and averaged 22 points per game.

Though both things are pretty much accurate—Thompson received MVP votes in just one season before Durant arrived, and his career-high scoring average was 22.3 in 2016-17—it takes Thompson's Hall of Fame-worthy career and boils it down to what he wasn't.

What Made the 2017 Dubs Special

The 2017 Warriors were arguably the greatest collection of talent in NBA history, but there have been many examples in basketball history of several elite players teaming up and falling short.

What made the 2017 Dubs so special was how all the stars sacrificed and embraced their roles.

Thompson could have half-asssed on the defensive end and focused more on increasing his scoring average, but he didn't do that because he was most focused on winning.

Green could have focused more on scoring after averaging a career-high 14 points per game in 2015-16, but instead he put his focus into passing and defense, allowing his star teammates to shine more.

Curry and Durant were both capable of averaging more points per game, but they deferred to each other at times.

All of that got lost in Durant's Instagram post.

If Durant's point was that the 76ers' Big Four has more individual offensive talent than the Warriors' Big Four of 2017, I don't think many would argue with him.

But it's hard to support that the 76ers' Big Four is on par with the Warriors' Big Four in a team setting.

Of course we will find out soon enough. For the 76ers to match the 2017 Warriors, all they will have to do is win 67 regular-season games and go 16-1 in the playoffs.

Or at the least they will have to win a championship in dominant fashion.

No team has come all that close to the 2017 Warriors since, and the 2026-27 76ers won't be the one to do so.

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