Alex Rodriguez found some parallels to his MLB career and that of Kevin Durant when the former Golden State Warriors star appeared on Barstool’s The Corp With A-Rod and Big Cat.
“We both went to the big bad Yankees, the big bad Golden State, and a team that had an embarrassment of riches,” Rodriguez said. “Already world champions, a lot of similarities there.”
When Rodriguez was traded to the Yankees from the Texas Rangers after the 2003 season, it continued a dynasty that looked just as inevitable as that of Golden State when they got Durant.
Despite the Rangers finishing in last place in the American League West that year, Rodriguez won the AL MVP Award.
The Yankees, meanwhile, had made the World Series for the sixth time in eight years. However, they lost to the Florida Marlins, extending their championship “drought” to three seasons.
So the 101-win Bronx Bombers traded for the MVP.
Similarly, the Warriors were coming off a Finals defeat but were in position to make more runs. Instead of staying content with what they had, they chased one of the best players in the league.
Durant joined the 73-win Golden State team.
The road to Rodriguez’s first championship wasn’t quite as quick as it was for Durant.
It took six seasons with Rodriguez before New York could win the World Series. That’s in part due to their fierce rival, another comparison Rodriguez drew to Durant.
Before the Yankees, he was competing with New York’s Derek Jeter and Boston Red Sox’s Nomar Garciaparra to be the best shortstop in the game.
Similarly, Durant competed with LeBron James to be the best basketball player in the world.
After getting to New York, Rodriguez needed to get over the Boston hump.
“We had like these great young shortstops coming up,” Rodriguez said. “When I got to New York, I needed to work so hard cause I knew that Big Papi, and Manny Ramirez, and Pedro Martinez for the Red Sox were doing everything in their power to beat the crap out of us, and we were doing the exact same thing.”
Joining the Warriors helped Durant get over that James blockade and win a pair of titles.
As two players who towered over the rest of the league, there are certainly comparisons that can be made between the two.
Rodriguez even mentioned similarities when it came to their heights and positions, saying that at 6-foot- 3 he was often told he was too tall to be a shortstop.
And we all know that Durant is taller than the traditional ball handler and playmaker.
The stars may have played different sports and have had much different careers, but there are some similarities between the paths of Rodriguez and Durant.
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