Brooklyn Bad Boys?

Will the 3 most disrespected players prove critics wrong?

On January 13th at 4:25 pm, the Brooklyn Nets put all their chips in and traded for Houston Rockets superstar guard James Harden in hopes to bolster their championship dreams. Pairing up the 2017 MVP with 2014 MVP and 2 time Finals MVP forward Kevin Durant and 2016 NBA champion point guard Kyrie Irving, the Nets are set on a championship run. The Brooklyn big 3 has also been the most scrutinized and criticized players in the league recently. The question remains: can these 3 overcome their villainous narratives to get to the promiseland?

Small forward Kevin Durant.Photo credit: Brian Rothmuller

Kevin Durant has been an elite scorer since he played for the Oklahoma City Thunder, earning himself a 2014 MVP award. In the 2015-16 season, Durant along with point guard Russell Westbrook lead the Thunder to the Western Conference Finals to face the juggernaut 73-9 Golden State Warriors. After taking a 3-1 series lead, the Warriors came back and won the series 4-3 to knock the Thunder out of the playoffs. In the summer of 2016, Durant enraged all basketball fans as he made the decision to sign with the Warriors team that just beat him in the playoffs. The media viewed this as a weak and easy way to a ring as he joined forces with the best team in the league that had just beat him last year. Kevin went on to win back to back Finals with the Warriors and even won Finals MVP both years. In the 2019 playoffs, the star forward had an injury and missed the majority of the playoffs. In the Finals against the Toronto Raptors, Kevin tried to help his team to victory although he was not fully healthy. Just minutes into the first quarter, Durant goes down in pain and finds out that he tore his Achilles. In the offseason after losing the Finals, the former 2 time Finals MVP signed with Brooklyn and missed the year due to rehabbing his Achilles. Now he’s back and looks like he hasn’t missed a step.

Shooting guard James Harden.Photo credit: Mark J. Terrill

James Harden started as a quality 6th man for the Thunder while playing with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. After seeking more money, the Thunder traded the bench player to the Houston Rockets where he was able to carve out a starting role. Harden quickly emerged onto the scene and became one of the greatest scorers in the league and proved to be Houston’s franchise player. Harden established his dominance by placing top 3 in the MVP voting for 4 consecutive years and even won the award in 2018 as he averaged a league’s best 30.4 points per game. Although the Houston star was playing at an elite level, critics still swarmed him left and right. He was criticized for his questionable step back shot, which many believe is a travel, and for his ball hog tendencies. Fans speculate that because of his unique and somewhat selfish play style, he was the problem for Houston never reaching the Finals. The Rockets have tried pairing him up with multiple superstars from defensive big man Dwight Howard, to the intelligent playmaking point guard in Chris Paul, and even his former Thunder teammate in the explosive Russell Westbrook. With these teammates, Harden only reached the Western Conference Finals twice in Houston. After another year of an early playoff exit, the longtime franchise hero demanded a trade. Several weeks into the new season, the Nets made the move to acquire the generational scorer in hopes to win it all.

Point guard Kyrie Irving on the Cleveland Cavaliers.Photo credit: Ezra Shaw

Kyrie Irving is an elite ball handler and playmaker that started alongside all time great Lebron James on the Cleveland Cavaliers. Irving played the role of Robin to Lebron’s Batman as the two led the Cleveland Cavaliers to 3 straight Finals appearances. After losing the 2015 Finals to the Warriors, the Cavs came back to beat the 73-9 Warriors team after being down 3-1. Irving showcased his elite play as he and Lebron became the first teammates ever to both score 40+ points in a Finals’ game. Irving also showed that he can be a closer as he hit arguably the biggest shot in NBA history to give the Cavaliers their first ever championship trophy and came back to win the series 4-3.

Kyrie Irving on the Boston Celtics.Photo credit: Cavaliers Nation

After losing to Kevin Durant and the new Warriors squad the following year, Kyrie decided that he wanted to be traded as he was disgruntled with being the sidekick. The Cavs sent Irving to the Boston Celtics in 2017 and he instantly looked like an MVP. Questions started to surface as the Celtics had a better record when Irving did not play. The crafty playmaker aided Boston to the playoffs for two straight seasons, but in the first came up short against his old friend Lebron James. After falling short in the second season, rumors spread stating that Kyrie was not happy in Boston. Irving then decided to take his talents to the Nets to team up with Durant in 2019. Irving then claims in his first Nets presser that he could not seek help after dealing with his grandfather’s passing. He continues by saying that he blamed his commitment to basketball and looked at it as a job. It was also reported that Irving didn’t get along with the coach or some teammates. His personality also rubs fans the wrong way as he makes bold and weird comments and tends to distance himself from teammates. This year, Irving missed 7 straight games due to him taking personal time to spend with family and to focus on certain issues but the critics weren’t having it. Some even claimed that he should retire or shut up and just keep his opinions to himself. But when Kyrie didn’t talk, it was still a problem as people blasted him for missing media day this year. Irving is a questionable and polarizing figure as his play is stupendous but his off the court actions rub everyone the wrong way. Now that he’s back, he can prove to everyone that he’s not a problem and can still be an efficient player.

Kevin Durant (left), James Harden (middle), and Kyrie Irving (right) playing together on the Brooklyn Nets.

The Brooklyn Nets are looking at winning a championship now. With the 2 best scorers in the league and a crafty playmaker who can create his own shot, the Nets have a chance to prove all the haters and critics wrong. Durant can show that he doesn’t have to join an already established super team to win, Harden can show that he doesn’t have to be a ball hog and can share the ball to win it all, and Kyrie can show that his play makes up for the off court antics and is keyed in on winning once again. Who knows, the 3 most disrespected players in the league might come together to form the Brooklyn Bad Boys to quiet the haters and hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy at season’s end.