While LeBron James has gone on to proclaim himself as the greatest of all-time for defeating the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors, who won 73 games in the regular season, Kevin Durant thought that besting James in the NBA Finals would propel him to taking over the mantle, according to Ethan Strauss of The Athletic.

“Some teammates believe that his biggest successes are indivisible from what currently ails. Or moreover, the reception of such successes. Sources say that Durant believed his besting of LeBron James in the 2017 Finals would get him hailed as the game’s top player, a mantle he’s craved for some time. While LeBron averaged a 33.6 point-per-game triple-double in that Finals, Durant was superior defensively and hit the series’ biggest shot right in the King’s face.

“Instead, there was no grand reordering of rankings, and only so much credit to be had for a dominant playoff run.”

Durant was hailed for his iconic wing 3-pointer over James to seal a Warriors comeback effort and a 3-0 lead in the 2017 NBA Finals, a shot so big in nature that it had analysts and pundits wondering if Durant was indeed the most dominant offensive player, who also managed to get it done at the defensive end.

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Yet James managed to retain the mantle despite that loss in The Finals due to the body of work and sheer appearances in the biggest stage of pro basketball.

Sweeping him and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2018 NBA Finals also did little to drive Durant's case, as the narrative of joining a juggernaut to win a title had already expanded to astronomical levels.

That might ultimately be the reason Durant chooses to leave this summer. Not for greener pastures or more success, but for a chance to leapfrog his immediate rival to the title of GOAT by winning a title all in his lonesome.