KD compares 76ers' star power to his Warriors
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- Kevin Durant said the 76ers have the offensive firepower to compete for the 2027 NBA championship, invoking his Golden State Warriors championship teams with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson when praising Philadelphia's star quartet
- Durant framed the comparison mathematically, calling the Warriors' three 20-point scorers "unfair" and declaring Philadelphia's James, Brown, Embiid, and Maxey "four 25-point scorers" who make the team "League Pass-worthy"
- Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey each averaged at least 25 points per game last season, while LeBron James has hit that mark in 20 of his 23 NBA seasons
- James, 41, announced July 24 he would join the 76ers after more than three weeks of deliberation, choosing Philadelphia over the Warriors, Cavaliers, and Heat on a two-year, $8 million contract
- The 76ers acquired Brown from the Boston Celtics and signed James before oddsmakers vaulted them into the top tier of title favorites, trailing only the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs
- Philadelphia is chasing its first championship since 1983, and James is bidding to become the first player in NBA history to win a title with four different franchises
- Durant, 37, said he wants to compete in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, where he could become the first men's basketball player to win five Olympic gold medals after winning alongside James in 2012 and 2024
Why it matters: A peer and future Hall of Famer publicly endorsed the 76ers as a 2027 contender using his own championship experience as the benchmark — the strongest external validation yet of the James-Brown-Embiid-Maxey core. Philadelphia moved from afterthought to top-three title favorite on the strength of a discount $8 million deal for a 41-year-old and a single trade. James is also one championship from a feat no player has ever accomplished: titles with four different franchises.
