A most valuable tandem The pairing of Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant was exhilarating while it lasted. How does it measure up to the NBA’s greatest duos?

A most valuable tandem The pairing of Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant was exhilarating while it lasted. How does it measure up to the NBA’s greatest duos?

Bob Cousy and Bill Russell relentlessly cranked out championships. Elgin Baylor and Jerry West lit up scoreboards. Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar produced a rollicking show for a full decade, as did Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.

And now, joining these dynamic duos in the dustbin of NBA history: Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant.

Durant’s departure to the Brooklyn Nets not only chopped off a dynasty at its knees. His exit also ended one of the game’s most exhilarating, entertaining partnerships, perfectly suited for the modern trend of spacing the court and launching 3-point shots.

Curry and Durant belong in any conversation about the greatest tandems in NBA history, even if they played only three seasons together. Just three MVP duos — players who previously won the league’s Most Valuable Player award — spent more time as teammates than Curry and Durant did.

Cousy and Russell played side by side for five seasons with Boston after both players had been named MVP (they were teammates for seven years in all). Moses Malone and Julius Erving spent four seasons as MVP teammates with Philadelphia in the mid-1980s, as did Charles Barkley and Hakeem Olajuwon with Houston in the late ’90s.

Curry and Durant are unique in this way: Each player was in his prime when they teamed up. They were the first MVPs to play on the same team before turning 30, according to the Elias Sports Bureau; Curry and Durant spent nearly two full seasons as teammates before Curry reached 30 in March 2018. (Curry now is 31 and Durant will turn 31 in September).

Asked before this year’s NBA Finals how he would remember Durant’s time with the Warriors if Durant left this summer, Curry said, “A lot of sacrifice, a lot of amazing experiences. ... The fact you put all this talent together doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to work. It’s not guaranteed by any stretch.”

Durant clearly lifted Golden State into another realm after joining Curry and Co. in July 2016. The Warriors reached the NBA Finals in all three seasons with Durant, and they went 10-0 in playoff series in which he played at least one full game.

They also threatened to become the first team since the Lakers in 2002 — led by another elite duo in Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal — to win three consecutive championships. And they might have pulled it off, if Durant had been healthy for this year’s Finals against Toronto.

Curry and Durant differed from many transcendent tandems of the past, because both are perimeter players. Russell, Abdul-Jabbar and O’Neal provided size near the basket, balancing the point-guard wizardry of Cousy and Johnson, respectively, and the outside scoring ability of Bryant.

The best parallels, then, might be Baylor and West with the Lakers (1960-72) and Jordan and Pippen with the Bulls (1987-93 and 1994-98). They also were guards and/or small forwards, and they similarly played together during their peak years.

Neither Baylor nor West won an MVP award, though Baylor finished in the top five in the voting seven times and West did so eight times (including four runner-up finishes). They combined to score more than 50 points a game in nine seasons, including two in which they collectively averaged more than 60 (a staggering 69.1 in 1961-62 and 61.1 the next season).

Jordan and Pippen didn’t produce such eye-popping numbers, but both were extraordinary all-around players. They also combined to help the Bulls win six titles in an eight-year stretch, during a long run as teammates throughout their 20s and into their early 30s.

Hall of Famer Rick Barry, who led the Warriors to the 1975 NBA title, referenced these and other standout tandems of the past — but he’s partial to Curry and Durant.

“Some teams have had outstanding combinations, but not to the extent of these guys,” Barry said. “None of those guys had the outside game of Steph and KD, to shoot the 3 at such depth.

“That’s unbelievable, because it opens up the court for everybody else. And if you don’t pick them up, they’ll shoot it in your face from 28 feet.”

Warriors broadcaster Jim Barnett grew up in Riverside an avid Lakers fan. He watched many games in which Baylor and West overwhelmed opponents with their deep offensive repertoire.

So Barnett, in contemplating the best tandems he’s seen in his 60-plus years following the NBA, has a soft spot for Baylor and West. Barnett put Curry and Durant in the same realm, with a nod to Cousy and Russell for starting an unprecedented dynasty in Boston.

Barnett described Curry as being “on another planet,” given his shooting ability. But what allowed the alliance with Durant to work, in Barnett’s mind, was their intelligence and willingness to sacrifice individual statistics to “make the right play.”

And that, in turn, comes down to handling the speed of the game, surveying the court and understanding what’s unfolding in front of them.

“The game slows down for great players more than it does for an ordinary player like I was,” Barnett said. “These guys see the game differently than a normal player. Everything is in slow motion for them. It looks fast, but they’re so good that they see it in a different time frame.”

Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry celebrates his 13th 3-pointer of the game with Kevin Durant during Warriors' 116-106 win over New Orleans Pelicans during NBA game at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, November 7, 2016. less Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry celebrates his 13th 3-pointer of the game with Kevin Durant during Warriors' 116-106 win over New Orleans Pelicans during NBA game at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on ... more Photo: Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle 2016 Photo: Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle 2016 Image 1 of / 6 Caption Close Warriors’ Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant: historic tandem while it lasted 1 / 6 Back to Gallery

Sacramento Kings broadcaster Jerry Reynolds, another man with more than a half-century in the game — including stints as Kings head coach and front-office executive — leaned toward Johnson and Abdul-Jabbar as the top tandem ever. Johnson might be the greatest point guard ever, as Reynolds pointed out, and Abdul-Jabbar could be the best center (or No. 2 behind Wilt Chamberlain).

Reynolds also did not hesitate to include Curry and Durant in the mix, because of their uncommon long-range shooting skills and the way they create those shots.

“Guys in history have shot as well, but Curry and Durant are so good off the dribble — going right, going left — you just don’t see that,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds also marveled at the way Curry adapted his game to accommodate Durant. This requires a rare willingness to set aside ego, much the way Klay Thompson blends into this Warriors’ equation as an uber-accomplished supporting actor.

Thompson’s skills helped Curry and Durant flourish as teammates, spreading the court even more. This allowed Curry, especially, to operate in space, using his quickness and ball handling. Durant proved to be a capable passer in his time with Golden State, boosting his assists-per-game average from 4.8 to 5.4 to a career-high 5.9 last season.

But what lifts Durant into historical debate is his unprecedented mix of height/length and shooting acumen. He’s listed at 6-foot-9 but probably stands closer to 6-11; Barry, who is 6-7, has a photo from one Warriors championship parade in which Durant “dwarfs” him.

“KD is Dirk Nowitzki with athleticism,” Barry said. “KD is an anomaly.”

Curry and Durant did not instantly mesh, partly because their playing styles are strikingly different.

The Warriors built this powerhouse on perpetual motion, as they reminded us in sweeping Portland in the West finals without Durant — Curry and Thompson darting all over the court, curling off screens, searching for open space. Durant doesn’t move especially well without the ball, but he’s a master of isolation, able to rise above virtually any defender and sink his oh-so-smooth jump shot.

Curry deferred to Durant in their first two-plus months as teammates, creating many awkward moments as two MVPs tried to coexist.

“The first 30 games or so, you kind of saw Steph trying to get Kevin involved and worry about what he should do, when he should take a shot, when he should try to find K,” forward Draymond Green said. “I remember vividly after we played the Cavs on Christmas Day (in 2016), and K told Steph, ‘I just need you to be you. Just do what you do, and I’ll figure out the rest.’”

They averaged a combined 50.4 points per regular season game in 2016-17, followed by 52.8 the next season and 53.3 last season. Defenses had to pick their poison. Load up on Durant and see Curry take over; focus on Curry and watch Durant dominate.

“We developed a trust, especially in the big moments,” Curry said before the Finals. “We know the right time to take over, that kind of vibe. Honestly, as crazy as it sounds with all the noise around our team, we don’t really care who’s ‘taking the credit,’ because we understand how valuable we all are to what we do as a team.”

Head coach Steve Kerr played alongside Jordan and Pippen in their Bulls heyday and grew up in Los Angeles as the Showtime Lakers of Magic and Kareem took off. Johnson and Abdul-Jabbar led the Lakers to five NBA titles and eight Finals appearances in 10 seasons.

Curry and Durant didn’t enjoy similar longevity together. But three Finals appearances and two championships in three years is a powerful statement.

“It’s different stylistically and positionally with Steph and Kevin,” Kerr said, gazing at the walls of the Warriors’ practice facility. “It’s pretty rare, but that’s why we’ve got banners up here.”

Ron Kroichick is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rkroichick@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ronkroichick