After surviving the onslaught of criticism following his departure from Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant is now left with his destiny in his own hands — to become an NBA champion or to face the ridicule of most pundits around the association.

A much more blunt version of Durant told Sam Amick of USA TODAY Sports that his offseason decision has nothing to do with why other organizations have failed to achieve their goals of making the postseason or remaining in a rut through the years.

“I'm the reason why (expletive) Orlando couldn't make the playoffs for five, six years in a row?” Durant said with a sarcastic tone. “Am I the reason that Brooklyn gave all their picks to Boston? Like, am I the reason that they're not that good? (laughs).”

“I can't play for every team, so the truth of the matter is I left one team. It's one more team that you probably would've thought would've been a contender. One more team. I couldn't have made the (entire) East better. I couldn't have made everybody (else) in the West better.”

Durant has faced the latest backlash of the creation of super teams, even getting a provision of the new collective bargaining agreement to help entice free agents like himself to sign with their Bird Rights team, avoiding potential ventures to solidified contenders like the Golden State Warriors were prior to his arrival.

The NBA has been swarmed with criticism as the Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers have been on a collision course throughout the postseason, mowing opponents down with a combined 24-1 win-loss record. Durant is paying little mind to these observations, zoning into his task at hand and letting everything else be what it will be.

“Certain stuff that used to bother you really doesn't bother you anymore,” Durant explained. “It's easier for me to kind of speak my mind, speak what I'm thinking because I now realize that I'm in control of my own destiny.”