Kyrie says the Nets could've won multiple titles with him, Durant and Harden had some things go a different way: "It's sad to say it was a failure without a proper context"
Now, in 2025, it's obvious that the Brooklyn Nets' construction of a Big Three back in 2021 wasn't a good move.
On paper, the trio of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden seemed unstoppable, but in reality, they were nowhere near the ultimate goal to win the NBA championship.
However, people forgot how many positive moments the team had, too. And maybe, had the few dominos fallen a different way, today, we would've talked about them in a different way.
A special first year
That's at least what Kyrie thinks when he spoke about the Nets during his recent stream. In fact, he says he'll always remember that first season they had together when Brooklyn played like a frontrunner to win the championship.
"That first year that we were all together was really special. We had veterans, we had young guys, we literally breezed through a regular season. It was so easy. And I gotta give everybody their flowers that were in that locker room because we really came together at the right time," Kyrie explained before continuing about what-ifs of the situation.
"You know, I get injured, James [Harden] gets injured in those playoffs, we don't know what could've happened. We only played a few games together and we were 13-3, I believe. It's sad when we look at this time to say it was a failure without a proper context for how all of this ended up happening...Those playoffs, if KD's foot doesn't hit the line, or things work out differently, maybe we're sitting here multi-time champions, a few of us got MVPs. We can go into hypotheticals, but it was a tough environment for all of us," Kyrie stated.Closer to a championship than it seemed
The 2021 Nets were a second seed in the Eastern Conference with a 48-24 record, in a season that was shortened to 72 regular-season games due to COVID-19 pandemic.
In the playoffs, they dominated the Boston Celtics in five games before facing off against the future champions, the Milwaukee Bucks, where KD's foot on the line that Irving mentioned happened.
It transpired in Game 7, when Durant hit what appeared to be a crazy turnaround three over P.J. Tucker to give the Nets the lead with one second remaining, just to have the replays show his foot was on the line.
The game went into overtime, where the Nets lost. Also, as Kyrie mentioned, most of that series KD played without an injured Irving and Harden and Durant averaged a ridiculous 35.4 points, 10.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game without them. In Game 7 alone, he had 48 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
Nobody scored more points in the history of Game 7s.
The bad thing is, the Nets failed to build on the positives from that season. They were never close to the top of the Eastern Conference again, which Harden apparently already sensed by requesting a trade less than a year after that series vs. Milwaukee, as he ended up with the Philadelphia 76ers. Kyrie did the same shortly after and he went to Dallas Mavericks and Durant was the last to leave for the Phoenix Suns.
Since the split up, Irving is still with Dallas, Harden has left Philly for the Los Angeles Clippers and Durant was traded this offseason to the Houston Rockets.
None of them won the championship after the split and Kyrie was the closes to do it in 2024, losing the Finals to the Boston Celtics in five games.This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 25, 2025, where it first appeared.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
7 hours ago
- New York Post
Billy Donovan lands extension with Bulls after Knicks' interest in coaching search
The Knicks' coaching search might've helped another candidate land an extension. Billy Donovan, whom the Knicks requested to interview after firing Tom Thibodeau before the Bulls rejected it, signed a multi-year extension to remain in Chicago, ESPN reported Sunday. The terms of the deal weren't immediately known, and negotiations initially started during last season, the outlet added. Billy Donovan reacts from the sideline during the Bulls' April 16 game. Getty Images But it'll allow Donovan to remain with the Bulls into the future after spending five seasons with the Thunder and then getting hired by Chicago for the 2020-21 campaign. He has collected a 195-205 record with the Bulls, and he helped them make the postseason during his second campaign before falling short in each of the last three years. In 2024-25, Chicago went 39-43 but lost in the play-tournament to the Heat. Billy Donovan talks with Coby White during the Bulls' March 13 game. Getty Images The Knicks made their request to interview Donovan early in their coaching search following their shocking decision to fire Thibodeau, but similar to their requests for the Mavericks' Jason Kidd, the Rockets' Ime Udoka, the Timberwolves' Chris Finch and the Hawks' Quin Snyder, they weren't allowed to move forward with him. Udoka secured a multi-year extension that made him one of the NBA's highest-paid coaches, while NBA insider Marc Stein reported that the Mavericks are expected to extend Kidd before the start of next season. The Knicks ended up hiring Mike Brown, the former Kings, Cavaliers and Lakers coach who will now be tasked with ensuring that a coaching change doesn't result in a step back from a run to the Eastern Conference finals.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
5 takeaways from the Nets playing in the Las Vegas Summer League
The Brooklyn Nets were hoping to see which of the five players they selected in the 2025 NBA Draft would have impressive performances in the Las Vegas Summer League earlier this month. Brooklyn finished the event with a 1-4 record, but along the way, they were able to see what four of the five rookies looked like against some NBA competition. Forward Drake Powell, the 22nd overall pick in the Draft by the Nets, was unable to play in Las Vegas due to left knee tendinopathy, something that isn't considered to be serious. However, Powell was held out of action by Brooklyn to ensure that he didn't make the injury worse by playing in the summer league when the team will have time to evaluate him over the rest of the offseason. The Summer league is usually the chance for all 30 NBA teams to evaluate their younger players along with some veterans who are looking for a chance to solidify themselves within a team's rotation or be seen by another team. With that being said, here are five takeaways from the Nets playing in Las Vegas, including a player who showed what he could do in a featured role: Drew Timme Showed He Can Play While Timme showed that he can play last season in his limited amount of game at the NBA level, his time in Las Vegas displayed a different level of impact that Timme could have thanks to his footwork and ability to remain calm under pressure. Timme came away from the summer league averaging 25.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.0 steals per game while shooting 55.4% from the field and 64.7% from the free-throw line. Egor Demin Can Shoot Demin, the eighth overall pick in the Draft and the first pick that the Nets made in the first round, came into the league with one of his biggest questions being his ability to play off the ball due to his poor shooting numbers. While Demin had serviceable numbers to the tune of 11.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game, he also showed that he can be efficient playing off the ball as he shot 43.5% from three-point land on an impressive 7.7 attempts per contest. Nolan Traore Is Fast Traore was one of the four players that was able to play in Las Vegas, but his evaluation was always going to be tough because of his having to fit in with three other players that are used to having the ball in their hands. Traore had some tough moments when it came to shooting and taking care of the ball, but his speed with the ball is as advertised so it's plausible that everything else will fall into place as he gains more experience. Ben Saraf Is Interesting For someone like Saraf, his place in the NBA will be dependent on how well he can balance being a scorer and a passer given his unique ability to do both at fairly-high levels prior to the NBA. Saraf shot just 30.4% from the field over the course of his three games played in Las Vegas, but his confidence grew by the game and his skillset is reliant on him trusting his instincts and playing in a free-flowing manner. Danny Wolf Is Exciting Wolf was already one of the more interesting players coming into the summer league due to his ability to handle the basketball while standing at 6-foot-11 and 250 pounds. Similar to the rest of the rookies that played in Las Vegas, Wolf had his struggles with efficiency in multiple areas. However, Wolf still shot 40.0% from deep on 3.3 attempts per game and he showed that the stage of the NBA will not stop him from using his package of flashy passes and stepbacks that he used to elevate himself to first-round pick territory during his college career. This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: 5 takeaways from the Nets playing in the Las Vegas Summer League
USA Today
10 hours ago
- USA Today
5 takeaways from the Nets playing in the Las Vegas Summer League
The Brooklyn Nets were hoping to see which of the five players they selected in the 2025 NBA Draft would have impressive performances in the Las Vegas Summer League earlier this month. Brooklyn finished the event with a 1-4 record, but along the way, they were able to see what four of the five rookies looked like against some NBA competition. Forward Drake Powell, the 22nd overall pick in the Draft by the Nets, was unable to play in Las Vegas due to left knee tendinopathy, something that isn't considered to be serious. However, Powell was held out of action by Brooklyn to ensure that he didn't make the injury worse by playing in the summer league when the team will have time to evaluate him over the rest of the offseason. The Summer league is usually the chance for all 30 NBA teams to evaluate their younger players along with some veterans who are looking for a chance to solidify themselves within a team's rotation or be seen by another team. With that being said, here are five takeaways from the Nets playing in Las Vegas, including a player who showed what he could do in a featured role: Drew Timme Showed He Can Play While Timme showed that he can play last season in his limited amount of game at the NBA level, his time in Las Vegas displayed a different level of impact that Timme could have thanks to his footwork and ability to remain calm under pressure. Timme came away from the summer league averaging 25.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.0 steals per game while shooting 55.4% from the field and 64.7% from the free-throw line. Egor Demin Can Shoot Demin, the eighth overall pick in the Draft and the first pick that the Nets made in the first round, came into the league with one of his biggest questions being his ability to play off the ball due to his poor shooting numbers. While Demin had serviceable numbers to the tune of 11.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game, he also showed that he can be efficient playing off the ball as he shot 43.5% from three-point land on an impressive 7.7 attempts per contest. Nolan Traore Is Fast Traore was one of the four players that was able to play in Las Vegas, but his evaluation was always going to be tough because of his having to fit in with three other players that are used to having the ball in their hands. Traore had some tough moments when it came to shooting and taking care of the ball, but his speed with the ball is as advertised so it's plausible that everything else will fall into place as he gains more experience. Ben Saraf Is Interesting For someone like Saraf, his place in the NBA will be dependent on how well he can balance being a scorer and a passer given his unique ability to do both at fairly-high levels prior to the NBA. Saraf shot just 30.4% from the field over the course of his three games played in Las Vegas, but his confidence grew by the game and his skillset is reliant on him trusting his instincts and playing in a free-flowing manner. Danny Wolf Is Exciting Wolf was already one of the more interesting players coming into the summer league due to his ability to handle the basketball while standing at 6-foot-11 and 250 pounds. Similar to the rest of the rookies that played in Las Vegas, Wolf had his struggles with efficiency in multiple areas. However, Wolf still shot 40.0% from deep on 3.3 attempts per game and he showed that the stage of the NBA will not stop him from using his package of flashy passes and stepbacks that he used to elevate himself to first-round pick territory during his college career.
