Kevin Durant was named NBA Finals MVP for the second consecutive season, but it sure didn’t seem like another award was on the horizon after Game 1. Though he scored 26 points, had nine rebounds, and six assists, Durant seemed disengaged throughout the game, often settling for contested jumpers while going 8-for-22 from the field.
Durant’s defensive effort was also questionable, and his inability to box out J.R. Smith in the closing seconds could’ve cost Golden State the game, had Smith not proceeded to commit one of the biggest mental blunders in sports history.
In an all-encompassing interview with Sports Illustrated’s Lee Jenkins, Durant admitted that he wasn’t taking the Cavaliers all that seriously in Game 1:
“His first game of the Finals was, by his own admission, a dud. ‘I disrespected Cleveland,’ Durant volunteers. ‘I didn’t come in prepared. I didn’t pressure LeBron. I was shooting long jumpers and wasn’t getting to my spots.’ The next three, however, were a masterpiece. The Warriors will replay those 15-foot turnarounds over Hill for posterity.”
Durant woke up after Game 1, and offered up one of the greatest performances in Finals history in Game 3, dropping 43 points and a 33-foot, series deciding dagger late in the fourth quarter.
During the four-game series, Durant averaged 28.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 7.5 assists, and 2.3 blocks per game.