Karma.

Memorial Day Weekend 2018. That Sunday and ensuing Monday saw the Boston Celtics lose a heartbreaking Game 7 to Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, and then the Golden State Warriors defeat the Houston Rockets in Game 7 to solidify the NBA Finals matchup. A little over a week later the Warriors hosted the Larry O'Brian Trophy after sweeping the Cavaliers and defeating them for the second consecutive season. Kevin Durant was awarded Finals MVP that nights, while the Celtics and Kyrie Irving watched from home. 

Flash forward four years later, and the Golden State Warriors are back in the Finals after a two year hiatus, facing off against those Boston Celtics who came so very close to making it all those years prior. A lot has changed from then to now with these Celtics, the core that got them a game away back then, now much more experienced and battle tested. But one thing about that 2018 Finals stays the same, as Kyrie Irving will be tuning in from the comforts of his home. Only know he will be joined by then Finals MVP, and now current teammate Kevin Durant. 

Going into the final year of his two year contract that he signed with Golden State back in 2017, Durant and the Warriors found themselves back in the Finals, this time up against Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors. Durant was only able to play 12 minutes all series however, returning in Game 5 after missing nine games with a strained right calf only to tear his achilles early in the second quarter. Kyrie Irving watched this series from his home as well after he and the Boston Celtics lost in five games to the Milwaukee Bucks. Earlier that year, in front of season ticket holders at the TD Garden, Irving expressed his intention to re-sign with the Boston Celtics. He then told the media a week later quote "I have every intention of signing with Boston next year. I do have a dream of putting my No. 11 in the rafters one day if I'm so blessed to do that."

With super teams being the new wave in the NBA, the 2022 NBA Finals supports a different look as both teams were constructed with a majority of home grown talent. In fact, 11 of the 14 top scorers so far in the playoffs from both teams were drafted by the two teams (the only three that are not being Otto Porter Jr for the Warriors, and Al Horford and Derrick White for the Celtics.) The Warriors are the more experienced team, with this being the sixth appearance for the trio of Curry, Thompson, and Green while every one on the Celtics roster is making their first ever appearance in the Finals. Both teams are constructed in a similar manor, around a core trio of playmakers, and both boast high powered defenses. Super teams and offense seemed to be the new wave coming into the NBA, but with both the Celtics and Warriors being the polar opposite of those things it begs the question whether it is the opposite which breeds success. 

It was no surprise that being such talented players, both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were selected to the All-Star game in Charolette. So when they both started trending on social media during their time there, it raised some eyebrows across the NBA landscape. With both pending free agents in the ensuing offseason, it poised the question whether the two would be teaming up next. These speculations and rumors turned out to be true, as on July 7th 2019, the duo inked contracts with the Brooklyn Nets. Durant was leaving Golden State after securing himself a championship that had eluded him in Oklahoma City all those years, and Irving backed off his statement from the previous October that he had made to the Boston faithful. While Irving's decision soured the fans up in Beantown more, both decisions did not sit well with the duos old fanbases.

This massive team up shot the Brooklyn Nets up to the small groups of teams favored to win the NBA Finals once Durant got healthy again. But it has not been all sunshines and roses for the duo in Brooklyn. There was turmoil with James Harden, who ultimately was traded to Philadelphia 76ers, Kyrie Irving's vaccination status, and injuries preventing the duo for playing as much together has was previously planned. The success they had in mind has not come to fruition at all. The first year saw no Kevin Durant at all as he recovered from his achilles injury and a bout with COVID. Last year saw the future NBA Champions Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo come in to Brooklyn in Game 7 and win, on a game that could have swung the Nets way if it weren't for Durant's preference for wearing shoes a size one too big. Then came this year with the whole Harden and vaccine drama, that saw the Nets making the play-in game come season end. After defeating the Cavaliers it set them up with a rematch with the Boston Celtics, a team they beat in five games a year prior. Four games and four losses later they were sent home, short of chance at a championship again. 

Both Durant and Irving left to go win a championship together, leaving their previous teams behind. Those teams they left behind took these departures like speed bumps. It slowed them down at first, but once they came over the top of it, they kept on cruising. As for Durant and Irving, their desire to form a super team to win a championship is ultimately what held them back. They now have to sit on their couches and watch their former teammates compete for the championship they joined forces to try and get. Karma.