Kevin Durant was faced with a difficult decision at the end of the postseason. The Oklahoma City Thunder had just blown a 3-1 lead to the Golden State Warriors and he could potentially join the team who suffered the same fate as his team did, but on an even bigger stage.
The 6-foot-9 small forward had plenty of suitors, but cut down his list to teams that he could possibly see himself win a championship with to the Thunder, Spurs, Heat, Celtics, Clippers, and of course, the Warriors.
Each team brought all hands on deck in their attempts to woo Durant into signing with them. His last two stops were with the Warriors and Thunder.
Golden State brought out all the iconic faces: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala and Draymond Green along with head coach Steve Kerr and GM Bob Myers. The plan was to start with a virtual reality tour of Oracle Arena when it's at its most climactic, but there was a malfunction turning the pitch into an epic failure.
“We all thought, ‘There goes the deal' – we went from the best presentation to the worst in 15 seconds,” Kerr told Rolling Stone's Paul Solotaroff.
But then his players came to the rescue, especially Curry as Kerr recalled.
“He told Kevin, ‘I don't need the ball and that many shots – I just need another title, man.' ”
Just like that, a potential presentation turned into an informal conversation between Durant and the rest of the players. A selfless act of sincerity was all it took for to avert a potential letdown.
“They just liked each other so much and were so relaxed,” said Durant. “I thought, ‘These are some chill-ass dudes I wouldn't mind hooping with.' I wasn't even asking, ‘How do we play together?' I was asking, ‘Where do y'all go eat, do y'all hang out together?'.”
The rest was history, as Durant went back to Oklahoma City to hear the last pitch his mind was already set on playing for Golden State. Kevin Durant signed a two-year, $54.3 million contract just days after the last meeting.
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