The Brooklyn Nets were very close to winning it all three years ago with Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving all on the roster.
In Game 7 of their playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks, Durant appeared to hit a go-ahead 3-pointer that could have won the game for the Nets. However, Durant’s foot was on the line and it only tied the game.
“For a split second, it felt like the Nets were moving on to the conference finals, but the shot was reviewed, and the very edge of Durant’s shoe was on the three-point line. It wasn’t a game-winner. It was a game-tying two. And with Kyrie Irving out and Harden hobbled by a hamstring injury, Durant eventually ran out of steam.”
The Bucks won in overtime, and they went on to beat the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals and the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals.
If the Nets were in the Bucks’ shoes, they would have faced an inexperienced Hawks team in the next round and a Suns team that struggled to beat Milwaukee. There’s a very real chance that the Nets would have won the championship in 2021 if Durant’s long two was a three.
If the Nets won a title, that trio of Durant, Harden and Irving may have stuck around a little longer, and they might even still be together today competing for championships year in and year out.
