Enes Kanter has spent his time away from basketball thinking about some of the what-if moments of his career. Among them is that infamous 2016 Western Conference Finals, which his Oklahoma City Thunder lost after holding a 3-1 lead against the Golden State Warriors.
The Boston Celtics center claims that Thunder team could have defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals had they finished the job against the Warriors. He told as much to Shams Charania of Stadium (via Logan Newman of OKC Thunder Wire):
“I know we could have beat the Cavs. That was the hard part,” said Kanter. “After the game was over, the next day, I’m like, you know what, we had everything (we needed) to go out there and win the championship, we’re just going to get back next year and try to do the same thing.”
The Thunder wouldn't have had that chance, as Kevin Durant left that very summer, joining the Warriors after they blew a 3-1 lead of their own in the NBA Finals. Kanter thinks the title could have been theirs if KD stayed:
“I was heartbroken when KD left,” said Kanter. “I think if KD didn’t leave, we could’ve won a championship just the next year. I believe that.”
Durant would win two titles in three years with Golden State, while Kanter, Russell Westbrook, and many other members of the Thunder team are still looking for a title.
Closing out that last game in three tries sounds like an easy matter, but the Thunder were going against a 73-9 team that had bested every expectation during the regular season. The closeout game is always the toughest to win, and Kanter and his former teammates could never get over that hump, leaving them without the opportunity to best LeBron James and the Cavs.
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