KD: 2001 Lakers would give Warriors biggest challenge

The current day Golden State Warriors are often pitted against great teams of the past since they have no equals in the modern era.

This hypothetical debate has linked the Warriors to everyone from the early-'80s Philadelphia 76ers to the 72-win Chicago Bulls. Plenty of bravado and hubris gets put on the line for something that is otherwise completely arbitrary.

Warriors forward Kevin Durant weighed in on the debate during his latest appearance on "The Bill Simmons Podcast" and cited the 2001 Los Angeles Lakers as the toughest matchup.

"That 16-1 team, that Lakers team would've been tough because (Shaquille O'Neal) was just big," Durant explained. " ... That team was bigger, you needed some size to get them, but they were bigger and Kobe (Bryant) was in rare form."

That memorable Lakers team, anchored by O'Neal and Bryant, went 15-1 throughout the playoffs to secure a mostly unchallenged title. Their lone loss came when Allen Iverson played the game of his life, but the Lakers were otherwise untouched.

Durant's solution on defense against the Lakers would be to hard double O'Neal anytime he received the ball in the low post, while also sending help at Bryant which would presumably leave the Lakers' supporting players open quite regularly.

As for on offense, Durant figured the Warriors would torture O'Neal by dragging him out to the perimeter and forcing him to move his feet.

"We would definitely put Shaq in a lot of pick-and-rolls. Make him guard Steph (Curry), me, Klay (Thompson) coming off pick-and-rolls. We would double him every time he got the ball and make him be a passer."