Hall of Famer and Golden State Warriors consultant Jerry West played more than just a minor part in the organization acquiring forward Kevin Durant this past offseason.
The 14-year NBA veteran and longtime front office executive was in Alaska during Game 3 of the NBA Finals, but was able to catch the entire game. His reaction was nothing short of the awe many felt while watching the last three minutes of the game unfold.
“It was pretty impressive for the way that they stuck to it and then Kevin – his greatness prevailed,” West told Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News.
“Obviously Steph’s popularity is well deserved, but Kevin was sort of flying under the radar all year. People just don’t know how great he is. They don’t. One of the things I was sure of, he was going to show people what a great all-round player he was. There was so much pressure on he and Russell (Westbrook) to score. And they did score. But in this situation, Kevin is showing that he’s a generational player.”
Durant not only had the general pitch meeting with ownership, head coach Steve Kerr and a number of key players of the team, but also talked to former back-to-back MVP Steve Nash and West in separate occasions.
The Hall of Famer didn't try to convince him with the argument of the collection of championship he could potentially have with this team, but rather asserted a new avenue in which he could display his game.
“I did not talk about that,” West assured. “Only thing I said to him, his all-around game, people will start to appreciate that. And this is what was hidden.”
“He’s unbelievably prideful, he is classy. He’s one of the classiest stars I’ve ever seen in my life. I just said to him, his all-around greatness as a player would come out playing with this team.”
That part of his game was in full display down the stretch of Wednesday night's game, sinking a dagger three-point shot that is sure to live in his legacy, so long as the Warriors capture the elusive title they failed to clutch last season.
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