Editor’s note: The Chronicle

is reviewing the season of each player after the Warriors’ second straight championship run.

In the aftermath of their 2016 NBA Finals collapse to Cleveland, the Warriors had to come to terms with the fact that even with a core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala, they were vulnerable against physical teams that forced them out of their ball-movement principles. Without another world-class scorer, they were perhaps too reliant on Curry and Thompson hitting three-pointers.

Weeks later, Golden State signed a player in Durant who can bail his team out of the most dire of circumstances. Even the stingiest of defenses can’t contend with one of the best scorers in NBA history using his 7-foot-4 wingspan to drain fade-away jumpers.

This past season, the Warriors relied on that fallback option more than they would prefer. With Curry limited to 51 regular-season games — his fewest since 2011-12 — by various injuries, Golden State often force-fed Durant in isolation situations, forgoing its pass-happy ways to watch one of the best scorers in NBA history beat his man off the dribble.

When Curry missed 11 games in December with a sprained ankle, Durant throttled up his offense, settled in as a vocal leader and guided the Warriors to a 9-2 record. It was around then that Durant, whose gaudy point totals have long overshadowed solid interior defense, briefly gained buzz as a Defensive Player of the Year candidate.

In a Jan. 10 loss to the Clippers, Durant scored 25 of his 40 points in the first half to become the second-youngest player in NBA history to reach the 20,000-point club. He finished the season sixth in the league in scoring, fourth in blocks, eighth in free-throw percentage and 20th in assists.

In the Western Conference finals against Houston, Durant was suddenly the target of Golden State fans’ ire for repeatedly initiating one-on-one situations instead of finding Curry or Thompson along the perimeter. There was a growing sentiment that Durant’s isolation-heavy brand of basketball was holding Curry back.

Such criticism quickly dissipated, however, when Durant and Curry returned to the most potent 1-2 punch in the NBA. The two led a second-half charge in Game 7 against the Rockets that erased a double-digit deficit and powered Golden State to its fourth straight NBA Finals. After a Game 1 dud against Cleveland in the Finals, Durant was a case study in efficiency, using a steady drumbeat of penetration to help keep the Cavaliers at bay.

No performance better illustrated his value than his 43-point, 13-rebound, seven-assist masterpiece in Game 3.

More Information Kevin Durant bio Age: 29 Position: Small forward Ht./Wt.: 6-11, 240 pounds Hometown: Washington, D.C. College: Texas Years pro: 11 2017-18 averages: 26.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 34.2 minutes per game Contract status: Durant will opt out of his contract before the June 29 deadline and become an unrestricted free agent.

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On a night Curry and Thompson went a combined 7-for-27 from the field including 3-for-15 from three-point range, Durant drained off-kilter jumpers over multiple defenders, found role players for easy looks, crashed the glass and drilled a late 33-footer from the top of the arc — almost the same spot as his iconic shot over LeBron James in Game 3 of the 2017 NBA Finals — to seal the Cavaliers’ fate.

Two days later, after posting a triple-double (20 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists) in the Warriors’ championship-clinching Game 4 win, Durant was named NBA Finals MVP for the second consecutive year. In a season plagued by lapses in focus and urgency, Durant had made one thing certain: Golden State has the ultimate luxury, a player capable of almost single-handedly rendering moot a team’s imperfections.

Offseason outlook: Durant, who will opt out of his contract before the June 29 deadline, is expected to ink a maximum contract with the Warriors. The question is over the length of Durant’s impending deal.

He and his agent will study the state of the projected salary cap, hammering out the salary structure that will maximize his earning potential. Regardless of whether Durant signs a one-year contract with a player option for the second season or something more long-term, all indications are that the 29-year-old All-Star intends to spend the rest of his prime with Golden State.

Connor Letourneau is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cletourneau@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Con_Chron