Defense wins championships. It’s the mantra we’ve all been told since we were kids. A high-flying offense can take you far, but a team needs toughness and grit to reach the mountaintop.
That isn’t an idea that everyone believes in, however. In recent days, this doctrine has been a source of discussion in NBA circles. During season 2 of the Netflix show “Starting 5” that was released in October, Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant expressed skepticism about the importance of defense.
Kevin Durant believes offense wins Championships
“You have to score baskets if you want to win a championship… Playing defense, we can get any of y’all in here to bend your legs… that’s easy.”
(Via @netflixsports, h/t @OmerOsman200)pic.twitter.com/4SYgkeGVTH
— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) October 17, 2025
“You have to score baskets if you want to win a championship,” Durant said. “Playing defense, we can get any of y’all in here to bend your legs, not touch the basketball, slide left to right, and contest the shot.”
Durant’s former Golden State Warriors teammate Draymond Green had a chance to respond to Durant’s comments in a sitdown with The Athletic senior NBA writer Sam Amick published on Tuesday. Green was quick to point out that every team that has won a championship featured a strong defense.
“If you look at most teams that couldn’t quite get over the hump, oftentimes it’s (because) they couldn’t get stops,” Green said. “That fact still remains, and I think that those who don’t believe it, don’t win. It’s very simple. Those who don’t believe defense is as valuable as it is, they simply just don’t win. I don’t think anyone’s ever really been hell-bent on caring about the opinion of those that don’t win, because your opinion equals zero.”
In three seasons together from 2016-2019, Green and Durant reached three NBA Finals and won two titles. Amick responded to Green’s statement that the opinions of non-champions don’t matter, noting that Durant has two titles and two Finals MVP trophies. Durant is one of just six players to win consecutive Finals MVP awards, alongside Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.
“He won here, and the defense was …” Green said.
“Incredible,” said Amick, finishing the sentence.
“Exactly,” Green said.
Durant’s difference in opinion wasn’t surprising to Green, knowing that their basketball philosophies aren’t always aligned.
“I know how ‘K’ thinks about the game of basketball,” Green said. “Like, I know that there are some all-time greats — alll-tiimmee greats; I mean, like some of the elite of the elite — who don’t quite have what Kevin would consider an offensive bag, and he doesn’t really think that player is as great as the masses may think, because of how he views the game.”
The latest in the back-and-forth came on Tuesday evening, when Durant responded to a post on X about Green’s comments. The tweet read “And the offense was????”
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) November 4, 2025
In the 2016-17 season, Durant and Green’s first title together, the Warriors led the league with a 115.6 offensive rating. Their 2017-18 title season featured an offensive rating of 113.6, which ranked third. It is considered one of the greatest offenses ever assembled, as Durant joined forces with sharpshooters Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. During the 67-15 season in 2016-17, Golden State had an offensive rating of 121.5 when Curry and Durant shared the floor, outscoring opponents by plus-19.9 points per 100 possessions.
However, Golden State also had the second-best defensive rating in the 2016-17 campaign. Green also finished with the best defensive rating (99.1) in the 2016-17 season, and Durant ranked sixth (101.3). In 2017-2018, the Warriors’ defensive rating dropped to 11th in the NBA (108.43). Per NBA.com, the Warriors finished first, third and third respectively in opponent field goal percentage during Durant’s three seasons in the Bay Area.
Early on in the 2018-19 season, Durant’s final year with the Warriors, his relationship with Green deteriorated after an on-court dispute during a November game against the Los Angeles Clippers. Durant has noted that the argument contributed to his departure in the offseason, when he agreed to a sign-and-trade deal to join the Brooklyn Nets.
The two have reconciled in recent years, playing together for Team USA in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and making appearances on their respective podcasts. But it appears they may not see eye-to-eye when it comes to the importance of defense.
