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Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors once again visited Chesapeake Energy Arena to face the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday night. Durant played well, scoring 34 points with 10 rebounds and 4 assists in the 111-107 win.
Fans booed him almost the entire game but it didn’t bother him as usual as he scored 15 points in the first quarter, 24 by the end of the first half, and 34 for the game.
It’s been almost two years since Durant left Oklahoma City to play for Golden State to win a championship. After accomplishing the task when they won the title last June, he also claimed the Finals MVP Award.
With the championship trophy in one hand and the individual award in the other, Durant has what most players can only dream of.
Having won the most prestigious team and individual awards imaginable, Durant may want to take his talents back to Oklahoma City. After all, it’s no secret that he still loves the organization and the city.
But will he?
The Departure
When he decided to sign with Golden State in July of 2016, Durant wrote a heartfelt letter to the city via The Players’ Tribune. It was the classic breakup letter where the guy leaving his girlfriend for another woman says, “It’s not you, it’s me.”
“The primary mandate I had for myself in making this decision was to have it based on the potential for my growth as a player — as that has always steered me in the right direction,” Durant said. “But I am also at a point in my life where it is of equal importance to find an opportunity that encourages my evolution as a man: moving out of my comfort zone to a new city and community which offers the greatest potential for my contribution and personal growth. With this in mind, I have decided that I am going to join the Golden State Warriors.”
Even as he expressed his intention to move on to another “relationship,” Durant praised the city which adopted him when he entered the league.
“I’m from Washington, D.C. originally, but Oklahoma City truly raised me. It taught me so much about family as well as what it means to be a man. There are no words to express what the organization and the community mean to me, and what they will represent in my life and in my heart forever. The memories and friendships are something that go far beyond the game. Those invaluable relationships are what made this deliberation so challenging.”
Clearly, the relationships mattered to Durant during his time with the organization, something that he shared with Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher in November (more on this later).
“It really pains me to know that I will disappoint so many people with this choice, but I believe I am doing what I feel is the right thing at this point in my life and my playing career.”
He probably had an idea of how the fans would respond to his departure after LeBron James made “The Decision” back in 2010. The fans were so hurt with James’ decision to leave the city that they burned his jerseys on national television.
That’s exactly what happened with Durant as fans burned his jerseys when the letter was posted and his “defection” became the top sports news in the country.
“I will miss Oklahoma City, and the role I have had in building this remarkable team. I will forever cherish the relationships within the organization — the friends and teammates that I went to war with on the court for nine years, and all the fans and people of the community. They have always had my back unconditionally, and I cannot be more grateful for what they have meant to my family and to me.”
Unconditionally? Not exactly as Durant would soon find out. Even so, the former MVP let Oklahoma, the city and the organization, know that his time with them was special.
As with anyone who has experienced a broken relationship, the pain leads to anger by the aggrieved party. It’s normal and the anger doesn’t subside easily. But time heals all wounds.
The Thunder organization, in response, didn’t do what Cavs owner Dan Gilbert did, which was angrily write a letter against the player that left him. In fact, team chairman Clayton I. Bennett praised the All-Star forward for his contributions to the organization. Team executive vice president and GM Sam Presti also appreciated Durant’s time with the team as he “made an indelible mark on the Thunder organization and the state of Oklahoma as a founding father of this franchise.”
KD vs. OKC
In the games against the Thunder following his exit from Oklahoma City, Durant was expectedly booed mercilessly by the fans whenever the Warriors came to visit his former NBA hometown. Just as James did in his first few visits in Cleveland, the 6-foot-11 forward embraced the villain role thinking that since that’s how the fans viewed him, he might as well take it seriously.
He and his former Thunder co-star Russell Westbrook had several altercations on the court during their head-to-head matchups since, further estranging himself from his old team. In the three games he played against the Thunder in the 2016-17 season (he missed the fourth meeting), Durant was extra motivated to play well. He averaged 37.7 points shooting 66 percent from the field, to go along with 9.3 boards. The Warriors won all three games as the Thunder were simply outmatched.
The games were intense, taking on a playoff atmosphere each time. Unfortunately, Westbrook needed more help, something that the Thunder team could not provide at the time. OKC clearly missed Durant’s presence on the floor, one that he wasn’t too concerned about as his thoughts were simply about something bigger.
Winning the championship
Later that season, the Warriors breezed through the playoffs, winning 15 of 16 games, on their way to an NBA championship. They defeated the Cavaliers 4-1 as Durant shined brightest in the series by outplaying James, the player to whom he is most compared to with no rings to show for his efforts. This time, he would take the series by force, willing the Warriors to a lopsided win in the 2017 Finals.
Durant was named Finals MVP with averages of 35.2 points and 8.4 rebounds a game, becoming the first player since Shaquille O'Neal in 2000 to score 30 or more points in five NBA Finals games.
“You've got to call Kevin Durant a champion now,” co-star and two-time MVP Stephen Curry said. “I'm just so happy for him to be able to realize his goal and be my teammate.”
“The way he embraced the opportunity in the finals was unbelievable. Crazy to think about the conversations we had this summer and going into the year about how we can both mesh and do what we do and see it come to life in this series. It was unbelievable.”
Durant recognized the harmonious relationship between the players and the organization as a whole as the reason for the accomplishment.
“Just the camaraderie, the togetherness of the whole organization, that's what it was about. I kept building on that from day one,” Durant said. “So a championship is just a cherry on top.”
The sweet-shooting forward who is destined for the Hall of Fame finally won the elusive championship that he had been chasing from his time with the Thunder. Having won it all and satisfying his desire for recognition as one of the greats after winning a ring and the postseason MVP award, could this be the first step toward KD’s eventual return to Oklahoma?
Before that can happen, Durant would be making a huge blunder the likes of which have never been seen before in the sports world.
The Tweet
Mentioning Durant together with Twitter to any NBA fan will evoke images of the player’s infamous tweet during the 2017 offseason. In one of the more revealing incidents that showed evidence that he still cares about his image with the Thunder fans, Durant replied to a tweet from a fan questioning his reasons for leaving OKC in favor of the Bay Area squad.
“Man I respect the hell outta you but give me one legitimate reason for leaving OKC other than getting a championship,” the fan said.
Thinking that he was using his dummy Twitter account, Durant replied to the inquiring mind with his official @KDTrey5 account as he was probably irked enough about the suggestion that a championship was all he cared about.
“He didn't like the organization or playing for Billy Donovan. His roster wasn't that good, it was just him and Russ,” he replied. “Imagine taking Russ off that team, see how bad they were. KD can't win a championship with those cats.”
For some reason, Durant felt the need to respond to a seeming attack on his character from someone he doesn’t even know. This was months after he had somehow earned a good deed card from the media and the fans for leading the Warriors to a championship. Why he even bothered to answer a random tweet is inexplicable.
He later owned up to it and apologized for the deception.
“I’m moreso disappointed in myself, that I was acting so childish,” he said during a TechCrunch panel. “What I thought was a joke is serious to everybody else, and I lost sight of that and I apologize for that. But I’m going to move on. I’m going to move on, and I’m going to play basketball. You can take what you want from it, do what you want with it, but it happened. I’m going to take it on the chin and move on.”
Clearly, Durant hadn’t totally moved on from his public image being smeared after leaving the Thunder. But his actions revealed what may be in his heart all along, that he never really wanted to leave and it was the lack of a championship that truly bothered him.
Former Thunder teammate and now New York Knicks center Enes Kanter responded to Durant’s apology, as noted by USA TODAY via CBS, saying it’s “too late.”
“Well, I’m not angry. It’s just really sad,” Kanter said. “I remember when he was here – I played with him one-and-a-half years – and when he was here, this organization and these fans, this whole state, gave him everything he asked for, everything he wanted. The cooks, the chefs, the massage therapists, the coaches, players – everything – just (to make) sure he is okay and getting what he wanted to get.”
Unfortunately, a good public image due to a lack of championships wasn’t one of those that the organization was able to get him. But one thing was clear from Durant’s Twitter gaffe—he cares about anything related to him and his time in OKC whether he admits it or not.
Advice to Paul George
Paul George was another unhappy camper with his old team, the Indiana Pacers. He was traded in the offseason to the Thunder and he wanted to know more about the organization from someone who used to be there — Kevin Durant.
“KD was like, ‘That place will blow you away,’” George told Sports Illustrated’s Lee Jenkins. “He told me, ‘They can offer what other teams can’t in terms of the people and the preparation and the facility, down to the chefs and the meals.’ He was pretty high on them. He thought it was a first-class organization in every way.”
That’s a ringing endorsement coming straight from KD’s heart, one that still loves Oklahoma City if you ask me.
Friendlier OKC?
In one of the more interesting sights in OKC since his departure, on November 22, prior to a game against the Thunder, Durant was asked by Oklahoma fans for his autograph and he obliged.
Lots of love for @KDTrey5 as the squad arrives in OKC 💙 #DubNation pic.twitter.com/DV1bsbVPQa
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) November 22, 2017
Though many are still quite bitter with the former Thunder star, there are those who have moved on from the messy breakup.
More revealing was the fans who were at Chesapeake Energy Arena who gave him a warm reception when he entered the court for his pregame warmup. Inasmuch as they would boo him when the game started, many appear to have forgiven the Warriors star forward. This was in stark contrast to last season when he was viewed as a super-villain unlike any other.
Lot friendlier reception for Kevin Durant's warm-up this year in OKC pic.twitter.com/3hCIkKUmKO
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) November 23, 2017
Definitely a much different vibe in the arena tonight compared to the first return game. Not that many heckles, signs or boos as Durant warmed up.
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) November 23, 2017
All-Star Game Reconciliation
As for Durant’s once contentious relationship with Westbrook, they appear to have smoothed out their relationship during the 2018 NBA All-Star Game. Durant even admitted to contributing to the antagonistic nature of their friendship after he left.
“I just got out of my own head & got out of my own way & stopped thinking it was even a thing…It's cool to kind of get past that & appreciate these guys for who they are and what they do. And it's all love at the end of the day,” Durant said through a tweet from Michael Lee of Yahoo Sports.
“Communicating, and that's about it. All the other stuff is irrelevant. Just keeping it cool. Talking when we need to,” Westbrook said.
The rekindled friendship between the two was evident during All-Star Weekend including the Sunday game where Durant and Westbrook were teammates on Team LeBron.
The Attitude Shift
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Everyone in the league has taken notice of the difference in Durant’s countenance this season. Rather than becoming more relaxed after achieving his championship goal, he has become more uptight especially when it comes to dealing with the referees.
Kevin Durant got ejected in the 1st half tonight for cursing out a referee. It's unclear whether he cursed him out directly or through his Burner account 😂
— David De Cristofaro (@Stereorush) March 30, 2018
He now has 14 technical fouls this season, tied for third most in the NBA, and a far cry from the boy scout image he portrayed early in his career. During Thursday night's game versus the Milwaukee Bucks, Durant was T’d up and ejected from the game before halftime, his fifth ejection of the season.
Here’s what he told the referee who didn’t call a foul on his defender as he was on his way to the rim:
“Yo, you didn’t see that f–ing foul?” Durant yelled, “Call the f–ing foul you b**ch-a** MF!”
That was probably the most foul-mouthed two sentences that the referee ever heard from a player especially one of Durant’s stature that he tossed him out immediately.
It’s almost as if Durant is making a decided effort to distance himself from the player that was in OKC.
Chris Broussard, formerly of ESPN and now an analyst for Fox Sports, said that Durant told him that there are two KD’s, the one in OKC and the one who plays for the Warriors now.
“He told me that that guy in OKC was being phony. That nice guy,” Broussard said in an episode of First Things First. “This is the real guy.”
Now what if this was just his way of separating the GSW Durant from the OKC Durant so that when he returns, OKC will accept him because he will be the OKC Durant?
Or perhaps this is a way for him to be so hated by the organization and the fans in Golden State, that he has an excuse to leave the Warriors when he decides to call it quits when his contract is up?
Unsatisfied
After being thrown out of the Milwaukee game, Durant spoke with ESPN’s Chris Haynes after the Warriors practiced on Friday.
“It’s just my emotions and passion for the game,” Durant said. “After winning that championship (last season), I learned that much hadn’t changed. I thought it would fill a certain [void]. It didn’t. That’s when I realized in the offseason that the only thing that matters is this game and how much work you put into it. Everything else off the court, social media, perception, isn’t important. What people say, how they view you, it’s not important.”
It doesn’t sound like KD was satisfied with the championship after all. He was essentially saying that he left OKC to fill a void that he felt would be filled by winning a championship. Sadly, that didn’t happen for him.
“What we did as a team was special, and I want to experience that again,” he added “My love and passion for the game has [blossomed] because I understand that's what it's all about, and I'm pouring all of this [newfound thirst] into this game. But I know I have to keep [my fire] under control, and I will.”
Durant is saying that the championship didn’t matter as much as his love for basketball which is why he plays the game. Even so, he acknowledges that he wants to win another championship but that’s not what drives him.
Since that’s not the main drive for him any longer, Durant appears to be saying that he’ll play ball just because he loves to and that may hold the key to seeing him back in a Thunder uniform again.
KD’s Love for OKC
In the aforementioned interview with Bucher late last year, Durant shared his thoughts on winning a title and how he felt afterward.
“Once we won, I'm expecting something to take the place of what I thought was empty,” Durant said, a statement he somewhat repeated after his most recent ejection. “Now I know. It's cool to do, but the journey is better than the destination. So much happened that got me to this point that means way more to me than a championship. That was my revelation when we won. I had to tell myself it was cool to feel that way. Everything I did led me to where I am.”
He also opened up about his affection for Oklahoma City and the organization it represents, revealing emotions that he has kept inside despite the villainous persona he’s been portraying against his former team.
“Those people really mean a lot to me to this day,” he says. “No matter if they talk to me or they're mad at me. Whether it's Sam Presti or Troy Weaver or Russell Westbrook or Nick Collison. Whether it's Wilson Taylor or Clay Bennett and his family, I love them from the bottom of my heart. We're not talking, but eventually we will.
“I didn't have that perspective at first. I didn't have it when I went back to OKC. I was like, ‘F–k all of them.' I didn't have it when they gave my number away. I was, ‘F–k all of them.' My best friend works for the team, I told him, ‘F–k all y'all. That's f–ked up.' Then I had to get out of my head, tell myself, ‘It's not that serious, it is what it is.' I understand it's not my number anymore, they can do whatever they want with it, but you hand that number to a two-way player, you've got to be, like, ‘Nah, we've got too many good memories with this number, man.' But at some point, that thing's going to be in the rafters anyway; it's all good. I did something they didn't like. They did something I didn't like. S–t happens. If I was on my death bed, I guarantee you Sam Presti and Russell Westbrook would come check on me. So I'm going to look at it that way rather than the other way.”
Durant wasn’t done yet and these are the most surprising words to come out of his mouth after leaving the Thunder a year earlier.
“Me and my family didn't just erase those eight years in OKC. D.C. and OKC is where we grew up—my mom, my brother, me. I am OKC. I'm still OKC. That blue is going to be in my blood forever. That place raised me. I have people there who would take a bullet for me and vice versa.”
After this interview, many interpreted this as Durant wanting to return to OKC eventually.
LeBron’s Return to Cleveland
No athlete had ever been as vilified by the city he left as LeBron had been in 2010. He became a villain, not just in Cleveland, but in many fans’ minds across the globe. The once well-loved kid from Akron became public enemy number one after announcing on national television that he was leaving Cleveland for the Miami Heat.
Four years later, however, James returned and was welcomed back warmly as his “sin” was erased by the fans the moment he said, “I’m coming home.”
Durant remembers this and knowing how much he has admired James over their years of knowing one another, he may be contemplating a similar return years later as well.
Return to OKC?
In an episode of the “Undisputed” with Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe before Game 1 of the NBA Finals last year, Kevin Durant's mother Wanda Durant was asked if her son would ever return to Oklahoma City and play with Westbrook again.
“I mean, there’s always a possibility,” she said. “We have the storied history of LeBron James, right? There’s a possibility, but I don’t know. I can’t say for sure, with certainty, that he’ll definitely go back.”
Bayless added that a former teammate of Durant and Westbrook believed that a reunion was imminent.
“His old friend Kendrick Perkins… he predicted that Kevin would go back [to Oklahoma City] maybe next year to reunite with Russ and kind of make things right. Could you see that,” Bayless asked.
“Well … no. I mean maybe if he would have said ‘in a few years,’ it is a possibility, but next year? No,” the elder Durant replied.
The likelihood that Durant returns to Oklahoma City is growing by the minute. From the fans in OKC warming up to him again to making his feelings about the city being made known, KD may decide to play for his adoptive hometown once again after learning how to be a champion with Golden State.
Just as James did before him, Durant’s lessons with the Warriors may serve as a catalyst for him to become a better leader and a better person when and if he decides to return to the team that embraced him as their own.
His Warriors contract will be expiring very soon. After next season, Durant will be a free agent once again and speculation will be high that he will sign with the Thunder in the summer of 2019.
Will Durant return to OKC? I would believe so. Whether that’s in 2019 or later in his career, I see KD coming back to Oklahoma City as a wiser player, one who cares more about the journey than the championship.
