I think the level Steph was playing in '21 gives him some credence given Durant missed like half that season. But we could say '21 was a wash...
'16 was Steph's peak year and you could argue he was the best player in ball that regular season, but I don't remember it being widely accepted that he was a better player than Durant........it was just, "holy shyt, do you see the year this guy Steph is having"....
So I'd agree that, certainly before the 2020-21 season, there is no definitive year you could say Steph was a better player than Durant. But you could definitely, at minimum, give Durant the first 6 years of Steph's career, that he was a better player than Steph, and again most people in the moment accepted that KD was better, when they played together. This shyt about Steph being better for those 3 years is a complete revision of what the common view of them both was at the time...