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The 2018 NBA Finals saw Kevin Durant win his second championship and second Finals MVP with the Golden State Warriors. This is exactly what he had set out to do two years ago when he made the decision to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Golden State Warriors.
Despite this, Durant continues to be haunted by an infamous moniker that followed him in his exodus from OKC.
The veteran forward has many nicknames, some of them flattering, one he gave to himself and one that is a direct insult to him. Durant is known as KD, Durantula, the Slim Reaper, the Servant (the nickname he wants) and the Snake. That last nickname was bestowed on the 7-foot forward because of the supposed betrayal of trust that occurred when he left the Thunder for the Warriors.
Durant’s Departure from Oklahoma City
The nine-time All-Star may or may not have expected the backlash that followed him when he decided to leave behind the team that drafted him in 2007. He was hated for joining the championship-ready team that defeated the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals in 2016. Because of this, he was given the nickname “Snake” for disowning his team for the one that beat him and his teammates that same year.
His peers were surprised by the move. His superstar teammate, Russell Westbrook, was angered that Durant didn’t inform him of his decision beforehand.
Despite accomplishing the goal that many superstars of his stature can only dream of, Durant has never truly earned back the respect that he so desired when he sought to win a championship.
The rings came, perhaps too easily it seemed, but the esteem that should have come along with it didn’t.
Tarnishing the Legacy
The decision to join the team that had just won 73 games (the most in league history) changed the narrative about Durant. However, it also affected his image and reputation drastically. He may have gone from being an also-ran to a two-time NBA champion and twice named the Finals MVP, but it came at the cost of his legacy.
Many of the game’s legends and the media questioned Durant’s competitiveness. Michael Jordan would never have joined the Detroit Pistons when he was being beaten by them. Larry Bird wouldn’t have dared switch teams by joining the Los Angeles Lakers because they beat his team. Wilt Chamberlain wouldn’t have joined Bill Russel’s Boston Celtics even if he had the opportunity.
This has been the narrative that has been following Durant up to now despite winning two championships and will most likely continue to so for as long as he plays for the Warriors no matter how many rings he wins.
Somehow, Durant broke the unwritten rule of competitiveness embedded in the psyche of superstars. Unlike written rules, however, the unwritten ones weren’t made to be broken it seems.
If Durant wants to leave behind a legacy that isn’t tainted by his decision to join the Warriors, then he has to follow the example of his rival from the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Decision of LeBron James
When James left the Cleveland Cavaliers and took his talents to the Miami Heat in the summer of 2010, all he wanted was to team up with fellow superstars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to help him win a championship. He needed his legacy to be validated by earning a ring surrounded by the best players he could surround himself with. Despite his good intentions, the Cavs and their fans hated him for “The Decision” and the rest of the world followed suit.
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But something happened along the way after four years and two championships in Miami. The air was changing for the Akron native. James was becoming accepted and respected by nearly everyone. More importantly, Cavaliers fans were more welcoming and he was being wooed to come back to Cleveland by the same people that burned his jerseys when he announced that he was leaving for the Heat.
Two years later, James gave his city the championship it had been craving for and it came against the most impossible odds. The Warriors led 3-1 and the Cavs came back to win the next three games to clinch the title.
After James brought a championship to Cleveland and gave the fans his heart and his soul throughout his time with the Cavs, many are actually willing to let him go to another city to win his fourth championship. Not only has James been forgiven. He has been redeemed.
What Durant Needs to Do
Since he already followed James’ example of leaving for a team that could win a title, Durant can win his fans and his legacy back by returning to OKC. He already has the rings and the Finals MVPs. This time, he needs to win in the city that he spurned two years ago. Inasmuch as he can continue winning with the Warriors next season, there isn’t much of a challenge left in front of him anymore if he plays there. He’s already on the best team in the league. Although other teams have been trying their best to build a team that can dethrone them, the fact of the matter is, the Warriors just have too many weapons and are just plain too good.
Though they were nearly eliminated by the Rockets in the playoffs this past season, the Warriors ultimately won in the end and breezed through the Finals with a 4-0 sweep of the Cavs.
Once he opts out of his contract, rather than go back to Golden State next season, he has to consider long and hard how his departure has affected his legacy. For Durant, it’s not about winning championships anymore. It’s about reclaiming respect. That respect won’t come by staying where he is right now. The respect that he wants can only come by heading back to Oklahoma City and going back to grinding it out, night in and night out, with players who have never gone to the Finals before.
When Jordan returned to the Bulls in 1995, a year and a half after his first retirement, the team was different. The following season, only Scottie Pippen and Coach Phil Jackson were left from the team that won the title in 1993. Yet Jordan led his team to the championship in 1996 and the next two seasons after that.
If Durant were to return to OKC this summer, it will also be different from the team he left. He will be leading a new team, one that has a more vocal Westbrook who had taken the reins of leadership from Durant when he left. Carmelo Anthony is there for another year and even if there are rumors that Paul George wants to return to OKC after trying it out for one season, there’s a chance that he could bolt for the Lakers.
Durant spent eight years in OKC and there are fans who have stayed faithful to him while others have come to forgive him. It’s his city as much as Cleveland is James’. Durant doesn’t need more accolades. He needs redemption and he can only get it by playing for Oklahoma City once again.
Then and only then can he be free from the nickname that has dogged him all these years. Rather than the Snake, perhaps people will come to know him more by the nickname he has christened for himself—the Servant.
