Why Kevin Durant compared his 2024-25 Suns to the back-to-back Super Bowl champion Chiefs.
Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant is a two-time champion and 14-time All-Star entering his 18th NBA season. While some speculate about a potential contract extension to secure Durant’s immediate future with the Suns, the four-time scoring champion focuses on his team and the upcoming season. However, he made an interesting comparison via the Up & Adams Show.
When host Kay Adams asked Durant to name an NFL team comparable to the 2024-25 Suns’ embodiment, KD named the back-to-back Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
“I would say the Chiefs because we’re bringing that championship mentality every day, baby,” Durant said.
When Adams named the Buffalo Bills as a measurable comparison, based on the fact the Bills, as the Suns, haven’t won a title in recent history, Durant dismissed them.
“Nah, because they’re known for getting there and just losing. I don’t wanna be one of those guys,” Durant added. “So, I wanna go with the champs and take on that mentality.”
Durant won back-to-back titles alongside Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and the Golden State Warriors in 2018. While Devin Booker and the Suns reached the NBA Finals in 2021, losing 4-2 to Giannis Antetokunmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, no other Suns player has played on a championship team.
Kendrick Perkins selects Suns as championship ‘dark horse’
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Outside of two-time champion Kevin Durant and All-Star Devin Booker, the Phoenix Suns lack NBA Finals experience. Still, ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins picked the Suns as his championship darkhorse for 2024-25.
In light of Durant and Booker leading Team USA to a gold medal at the 2024 Olympics, Durant’s championship pedigree, and Bradley Beal’s sheer All-Star talent, Perkins wouldn’t be surprised to see the Suns have a bounce-back year in the form of a championship run this upcoming season.
“They are my dark horse to win it all,” said Perkins via NBA on ESPN on X, formerly Twitter. “We saw a disgruntled, unhappy Kevin Durant average 27 points last year, and he wasn’t seeing eye to eye with Frank Vogel. Now he’s coming in, fresh start, fresh off of winning a gold medal.
“We saw the joy that he was playing with. Now he has Mike Budenholzer over there… Bradley Beal is happy. We saw how great that Devin Booker looked in the Olympics. And they filled in the pieces,” Perkins concluded.
The Suns lost 128-122 in overtime to the Lakers in their preseason finale on Thursday. They finished 3-2 in preseason play and will face the Los Angeles Clippers in their regular-season opener next Wednesday.