Beloved NBA icon Kevin Durant rarely speaks about regret, but he finally revealed the biggest wish of his career. Durant cited his time with the Brooklyn Nets and how much he wishes that he was able to win an NBA Championship there. The trio with Kyrie Irving and James Harden seemed destined to win multiple titles, but multiple negative variables caused the team to burn up in flames.
Durant revealed the following honest thought during an interview with Speedy Morman:
“It would have been so dope seeing that in Brooklyn. They would have handled it so crazy in New York. Just riding down Atlantic for real, and the parade. All our fans would have been there in all black; it’s the only thing I think about. When you realize injuries were the reason, it wasn’t because we played bad, and that’s what takes the sting out.”
Brooklyn only had one strong playoff run before falling short to the Milwaukee Bucks in a classic seven-game series. Durant referenced thinking about how much he’d have enjoyed a title win there more than other teams like the Houston Rockets or Phoenix Suns. The Nets never won another playoff game with Durant before trading away all three stars for different reasons.
Why The Brooklyn Nets Superteam Failed
The 2021 NBA Playoffs featured bad luck hurting the Nets when both Harden and Irving suffered injuries. Durant played some of the best basketball of his life with names like Bruce Brown and an older Blake Griffin as his best teammates.
The next season saw Irving refusing to get vaccinated and missing most home games due to Mayor Eric Adams creating vaccine mandates to work. Harden grew frustrated with this and was not giving full effort at the end of his tenure while requesting a trade to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Brooklyn made a terrible mistake by trading Harden for Ben Simmons, who gave them nothing. Irving eventually demanded a trade too upon feeling disrespected by the franchise after he got in trouble for sharing antisemitic videos. Durant realized his co-stars were gone and requested his trade next to the Phoenix Suns for a better chance of winning.
Why Kevin Durant Loves His Nets Tenure
One common criticism towards Durant is that he doesn’t have an NBA home. Oklahoma City forgot about him after he left in insulting fashion, and they have now won an NBA Championship with new franchise superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Golden State could have been his home, but Durant didn’t like feeling like a secondary player to fans and management behind Stephen Curry. Brooklyn was the one place where Durant seemed to perfectly fit into their culture.
Durant even referenced enjoying being the “little brother” team behind the New York Knicks and creating new fans for Brooklyn during that time. Things have changed now with the Knicks winning a title just a few years after the Nets failure. Durant found a franchise that loved him and had a chance to be their GOAT, but the untrustworthy teammates led to him only spending a few seasons there.
Kevin Durant Shares Biggest Career Regret Involving Nets