Kevin Durant’s Golden State Warriors Era Begins in Canada

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – On any other night, this would have been a Toronto Raptors crowd.

Some 15 years removed from having their own NBA franchise, Vancouver has become an annual destination for hosting Raptors preseason games. That “We the North” mentality even has heavy pull around this West Coast Canadian city. But inside Rogers Arena on Saturday, it was apparent there was a much bigger draw in town:

The Golden State Warriors and the first look at the Kevin Durant era.

In Vancouver, the exhibition game between the Raptors and the world champs sold out in 30 seconds online last month. National media coverage; Curry jerseys spotted all across the stands; Fans standing, gawking and cell-phone documenting the team’s every move.

And this was just during warm ups. For just a preseason game.

For the past two seasons, the Warriors have captivated the basketball world with their high-octane offense, which resulted in one world championship, a record-breaking regular season, and two-time MVP Stephen Curry.

Then the rich got richer.

With the free agent signing of Kevin Durant this offseason, the love, hate (depending on who you ask), and just general public fascination with the Warriors only escalates the hype.

“Because of the path [the Warriors] chose, particularly Kevin, makes some people envious, jealous and not like you,” said TNT NBA analyst, Kenny Smith. “And Kevin knew that. But he wanted to be a champion, so he didn’t care.”

This Isn’t Your Older Brother’s Super Team

While the image of Durant, Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson walking onto the court was surreal and somewhat magical, the Big 4’s first few minutes of game action together seemed slightly out-of-sync. Outside of turnovers (7 in the first quarter), the Warriors overshared the ball and the spacing was off—which is expected for any team’s first preseason game.

Durant, who was loudly booed every time he touched the ball, struggled picking his spots on offense. Only Thompson seemed fluid, draining three, three-pointers during the first quarter.

Eventually, there were flashes of the instant upgrade Durant gives to the Warriors’ already high-octane offense. Late during the second quarter, he was the trailer of the fast break, knocking down a deep center three.

Durant finished with 9 points on 2 of 9 shooting in 19 minutes as the Warriors fell to the Raptors 97-93. Thompson had a team-high 16 points and Curry added 8 points.  

In 2007, the Boston Celtics pulled off two blockbuster trades, acquiring two All-Stars in their prime, Ray Allen from the Seattle Sonics and Kevin Garnett from the Minnesota Timberwolves, to form the “Big 3” with Paul Pierce. Despite all three …

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