What if Kevin Durant signed with Celtics in 2016? Playing out C’s season

Editors Note: Strat-O-Matic, the market leader in sports simulation, has partnered with NBC Sports Boston to build simulation experiences for "What If Wednesdays.”

The Celtics pulled out all the stops.

Boston was one of a select few teams to score a free-agent meeting with Kevin Durant in the summer of 2016. So, the Celtics sent an envoy to Durant's hideout in the Hamptons that included New England Patriots legend Tom Brady, who tried to sell the former Oklahoma City Thunder star on the City of Champions.

So, what if the Celtics' pitch worked? What if Durant signed with Boston in 2016 free agency instead of joining the mighty Golden State Warriors?

Our partners at Strat-O-Matic have your answer.

The sports simulation company played out the Celtics' entire 2016-17 season with Durant in green and white and leading a talented roster that already included Isaiah Thomas and Al Horford.

The results -- from Durant and Thomas' impressive season stats to a fitting Eastern Conference playoff victory to an NBA Finals showdown with the team KD spurned -- are interesting, to say the least.

Here are six observations from Strat-O-Matic's data.

What if Wednesdays, Part 1: What if Brady stayed with Pats in 2020?

The Celtics led the East with a 53-29 record without Durant in 2016-17. Add a former NBA MVP to the roster, and you've got a wagon.

The "Big Three" of Durant, Thomas and Horford lead Boston to 62 wins in 2016-17, its most in the regular season since 2008-09.

The Celtics' 62-20 record is the best in the NBA by a long shot -- the Houston Rockets are second at 58-24 -- and they cruise to the No. 1 seed in the East with a comfortable nine-game lead over the No. 2 Toronto Raptors.

As for the Warriors? They lose 15 wins without Durant, finishing at 52-30 instead of 67-15.

This might be the biggest shocker: Durant isn't the Celtics' leading scorer.

Thomas, who enjoyed a career 2016-17 campaign in real life, takes his game to new heights alongside Durant, pacing Boston with a ridiculous 29.8 points per game on 50 percent shooting (and 41.2 percent from 3-point range) while adding 6.7 assists per contest.

Maybe we shouldn't be too surprised: Durant commands a lot of defensive attention as one of the best pure scorers in NBA history, which gives Thomas more space to operate as Boston's floor general.

Don't worry: The Slim Reaper still gets his buckets. Durant is right behind Thomas with 25.6 points per game on 49.1 percent shooting and leads the Celtics in rebounding with 8.1 per game.

But KD attempts just 17.5 shots per contest, which at the time would have been his lowest average since his rookie year (excluding an injury-plagued 2014-15 season).

Meanwhile, Thomas leads the C's with 19.2 shots per game, while Avery Bradley (14.5 points), Jae Crowder (14.3 points) and Al Horford (11.4 points) all average double figures in scoring.

As you'll see, KD's willingness to spread the wealth clearly works for Boston.

(Side note: a quiet rookie season for Jaylen Brown, who averages just 3.9 points over 11.0 minutes per game -- fewer than James Young at 4.8 points per game.)

In Strat-O-Matic's simulation for the 2017 playoffs, art imitates life.

The Cavaliers dispatched the Celtics in five games in the actual 2017 East finals, but with Durant in tow, Boston sweeps Cleveland out of the postseason thanks to KD's 42-point, 13-rebound effort in Game 4.

LeBron James' Cavs lost back-to-back NBA Finals to Durant's Warriors in real life, so KD clearly has LeBron's number when it counts.

Perhaps James would have bolted for the Los Angeles Lakers a season earlier -- just like he ditched the Cavs for the Miami Heat after Boston took down Cleveland in the 2010 playoffs -- following this tough defeat.

How's this for a fitting finish?

The Celtics defeat the Golden State Warriors in a seven-game NBA Finals to capture Banner 18, as Durant proves he doesn't need Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to win an NBA title.

Strat-O-Matic's Game 7 is a thriller, too: Golden State goes on an 18-point run in the third quarter to erase a 15-point deficit, but the Celtics rally in the fourth for a 114-104 victory.

Durant paces the C's with 27 points, while Thomas adds 10 assists and Jae Crowder comes up clutch with 22 points and seven boards to end Boston's title "drought" at eight years.

So ... what happens next?

The real-life Celtics made major moves in the 2017 offseason by drafting Jayson Tatum, signing Gordon Hayward and trading for Kyrie Irving. Would Danny Ainge do things differently coming off a championship with Durant signed long-term?

We can assume Hayward wouldn't sign, since Durant is on a maximum deal. But would they have drafted Tatum with a similar-style player in Durant on the roster?

And would they have re-signed Thomas after his stellar season, or would concerns about his hip lead Ainge to let Thomas walk and try to pair Irving with Durant two years before it actually happened in Brooklyn?

... We may have to save those questions for another Wednesday.