“I got no ill will. I actually got nothing but love for KD, actually. But love is love.” Earlier this year, Draymond Green made his feelings about Kevin Durant clear. An infamous feud that reportedly resulted in the Slim Reaper leaving the Warriors has simmered down over time. However, this is not to say that when Durant returned to the Bay Area as a Nets player, some tension still existed.

One can assume that Green developed a certain level of competitiveness with his former teammate. As it turns out, however, neither he nor Stephen Curry felt that. It was a complete contrast to how the Warriors duo would be feeling years later, though, when welcoming Klay back.

The 34-year-old forward discussed the Tuesday night Warriors-Mavericks matchup on his podcast. Co-host Baron Davis revealed feeling re-charged emotionally, as longtime teammates had now turned on-court rivals. Green highlighted that the game was not the first time that he and Curry had to battle against former comrades.

“Steph said to me right away, he was like, ‘Yo, you know we had Andre, when he left and he came back, and like, you know, KD’s kind of never really materialized. Like it was so many years in between him actually coming back and playing here, from when he left, that it was kind of never really, you know, THAT.’ He was like, ‘But we hadn’t had nothing like this,’” the 4x champ recalled on The Draymond Green Show With Baron Davis.

The fact that Durant didn’t play a game at the Chase Center after leaving the Warriors till 2023 also removed any potential reservation they would have had about the way things ended. Nonetheless, things were bound to be different with Klay. Curry and Green made this competitiveness unique because of the bond they share with Klay.

For 12 years, the trio worked together in the golden era of the Warriors. The trio made it to the Finals 6 times and bagged 4 rings. Steph and Klay became the best back-court duo in the league, earning the moniker of the Splash Brothers. From what Dray revealed, however, such a level of understanding couldn’t be formed with KD in the 3 years he was here.

So understandably, the level of competition that Klay Thompson delivered, mixed with the tension; created a scenario that was unmatched by what stars like Andre Iguodala and Kevin Durant delivered during their returns to the Chase Center. Thompson did keep Stephen Curry and the Warriors on their toes throughout.

During his 34 minutes on the court, he recorded 22 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. After making a three in the 2nd quarter, Thompson even made things more interesting by recreating Chef’s iconic ‘Shimmy’ move. Steph, who was sitting on the bench, couldn’t help but smile. But he got his ‘revenge’ later as the Golden State Warriors defeated the Dallas Mavericks 120-117. The Chase Center, on the other hand, delved into nostalgia.

As Thompson walked into the Chase Center, he was met with an outpouring of love from Warriors fans, who lined his path from the team bus to the locker room, waving Captain Klay sailor hats and cheering. A four-time champion with Golden State, Thompson was deeply moved by the warm reception, and the moment was made even more special with a video tribute from the fans.

“This was the best tribute for a homecoming game ever,” said a commenter, echoing the sentiments of many fans who flooded social media with their reactions. The moment was captured in an iconic photo of the entire Chase Center crowd wearing the captain hats. The SportsCenter Insta post garnered over 600,000 likes and thousands of comments. Stephen Curry jogged up to Thompson, now wearing No. 31 with teammate Kyrie Irving in No. 11, and offered a quick embrace before Andrew Wiggins also hugged his old teammate.

But what was exactly going on in Klay’s mind? Well, days ahead of the game Klay had downplayed the matter saying Golden State Warriors was a closed chapter for him and that he was looking forward to winning with the Mavs. That must have been heartbreaking for the Warriors fans. Interestingly, their HC Steve Kerr came out to speak for him.

“There’s a reason he said that. He’s trying to clear his mind, get centered, and come out and play a great game. There’s going to be a lot. It’s going to be a lot on him and a lot on us and it’s definitely a difficult night and an emotional night and everybody has to do whatever they have to do to settle in and play well,” Kerr had said. But even the coach could not help but become emotional when he said that it was kind of surreal to chalk a gameplan to stop someone they have played with for 13 long years.

Nevertheless, Stephen Curry has never directly said that his bond with KD was not on the same level as Klay Thompson. However, did he hint at it?

Stephen Curry’s snub of Kevin Durant

Back in August, Steph was on ‘Heat Check’ alongside Dell. When prompted to name the best teammates that he had played alongside, the Warrior said: “Klay (Thompson), Draymond (Green), Andre (Iguodala), Nate Robinson, actually for me. And Dorrell Wright.” As you may have noticed, Kevin Durant’s name is not there.

Being one of the best players of the modern generation, one would ask why Stephen Curry didn’t choose to name Kevin Durant on this list. Was it just an unintentional omission? However, the bond between the duo wasn’t always easy.

Former Warriors star, Shaun Livingston, once revealed that Steph didn’t accept KD easily when the latter joined the Warriors, stating, “It was hard for Steph cause it was an adjustment. He didn’t make the adjustment until the Christmas game! After that Christmas game, I think, you know, there was an internal conversation amongst them two, which it had to be. Like, look, ‘I need you to be Steph Curry.’ And once Steph was like, ‘Alright, you know, KD good, he’s good with us,’ it was like unstoppable from there.”

After seemingly taking 172 days to adjust to KD, and then the tension that developed between the Slim Reaper and Draymond Green during the final year; not much time was left for any on-court ‘bond’ to further develop. While Kevin Durant cannot be blamed entirely, things transpired in such a manner. In the end, it is what it is.