Comparing Golden State Warriors players to Pokémon
Kevin Durant – Gyarados
The Golden State Warriors made a huge splash by signing Kevin Durant who’s most similar to Gyarados.
Kevin Durant shocked the world when he decided to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder for the record-setting Golden State Warriors.
It was a controversial move because OKC had the Warriors up against the ropes, facing a 3-1 deficit that took some incredible performances from the Splash Brothers to overcome. Instead of staying put, Durant decided a change of scenery was best and took his talents to the Bay Area.
Durant is a top three player in the league, the most dynamic scorer the Association has ever seen, and a surefire Hall of Famer. So, bear with me here, but his Pokémon comparison is Gyarados.
Gyarados is a water/flying-type Pokémon. It is large and dragon-like with a long serpentine body. It has various moves, ranging from close range biting attacks to long rage water ones. It can basically do it all.
Similarly, Durant can do it all. He can finish around or over anyone in the paint or he can pick defenses apart from beyond the arc. He’s incredibly long, playing like a guard with a center’s body.
Both the former MVP and the Pokémon are extremely versatile with some fantastic skills that any coach or trainer would absolutely love to have. With Gyarados, you can swim over water, bypassing a lot of extra walking in order to reach places that you might not have been able to reach before. With Durant, you can bypass a lot of fourth quarters and see a lot of success you wouldn’t have without a generational talent.
So you’re probably thinking “why Gyarados?” There are a lot of Pokémon that fit that description. What makes this one different enough to be Kevin freakin’ Durant? Bear with me here. We’re reaching more than Russell Westbrook trying to guard Steph Curry.
Before you can have a Gyarados, you have to deal with a Magikarp.
A Magikarp is a small, red fish. It’s just kind of there. It doesn’t really help you in battle, it just flops around. like a fish out of water because…it is. And you have to stick with it for a long time before it evolves into the mighty Gyarados.
Sound familiar?
The Warriors had to deal with several years of Harrison Barnes just running up and down the court, not really contributing most of the time. He was just there. The pieces around him evolved into something great, but he stayed the same frustrating player.
But it was worth the wait. Dealing with the ineffective piece eventually yielded wonderful results, producing something amazing and the Warriors are hoping to ride Durant to another title.
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