After winning their second championship in three years, the Golden State Warriors were also considered as the big winners in free agency this offseason.

With the majority of their roster becoming free agents this summer, the Warriors managed to re-sign almost every member and keep their title-winning team together.

The Dubs were able to secure deals with Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Zaza Pachulia, David West and JaVale McGee.

As well as keeping their core group together, they made some smart acquisitions by adding shooters Nick Young and Omri Casspi to their bench.

Much of this was made possible by Durant who sacrificed for the benefit of the team.

KD surprisingly took a pay cut to return to the Warriors, foregoing as much as $7 million by signing a two-year, $53 million deal.

In an interview with CSN Bay Area, Livingston praised the reigning Finals MVP for this and expressed his appreciation for the superstar.

"Without him making that sacrifice, this probably doesn't happen," Livingston said.

The 32-year-old guard also admitted he called Durant to thank him personally for the sacrifice he made.

The eight-time All-Star could've asked for a max contract and the franchise was certainly ready to give him that.

It would've seen Livingston and Iguodala depart the Bay Area and Durant was not willing to let that happen.

He put the team's needs before his own and knows that it will give them a better chance of winning more championships together.

Explaining his decision in an interview with The Athletic last month, he said: "Well, I'm a smart guy and I want to keep this thing going and looking at Andre and Shaun (Livingston) and Steph (Curry) — they all should make the most money that they can make and get what they deserve.

"Because they were all underpaid and I knew at some point they'd want to get what they deserve. So I just took a step back and let the chips fall where they may. Then I took it in my hands.

"I wanted to keep the team together and I thought it was going to help the ownership bring all the guys back. And on top of that, it's my money. It's my decision. I can do what the hell I want with it."

His decision sees Golden State remain as favourites to secure another title this season and Durant wasn't about to ruin a good thing.