Getty Kevin Durant reacts to a play during a Golden State Warriors game.
Kevin Durant is pushing back after a claim that he abandoned the Golden State Warriors — and that his decision to leave Steph Curry could be a signature part of his legacy.
The Brooklyn Nets star posted a one-word response to criticism of his exit from Golden State following the 2019 season, a departure that remains surrounded by speculation. Durant bolted the Warriors as the team’s five-year run to the NBA Finals came to an end and they sunk to the bottom of the Western Conference, but the former league MVP doesn’t believe the controversial exit will be part of his lasting legacy.
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Durant Pushes Back
More than two years after Durant decided to leave Golden State to join the Nets, the decision is still drawing criticism. The latest came from ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, who wondered whether Durant could do enough to escape the notoriety that came from his decision to leave Curry.
“If [the Nets] do not win a championship,” Smith said on NBA Today. “Kevin Durant is on the verge for being recognized more so for the guy that left Steph Curry to go with Kyrie Irving than he is for the two chips and two finals MVP? I didn’t say we would forget him, I didn’t say we would diminish him because he’s a two-time champion, two-time NBA Finals MVP.
“I’m saying … what he’ll be known more for, what we’ll be talking about.”
Durant had a one-word reply to Smith’s speculation about his legacy: “Egregious.”
@ESPNNBA @stephenasmith Egregious
Durant Has Explained Exit
This is not the first time that Durant has re-examined his decision to leave Golden State, as he has admitted in the past that there was a bit of a clash of personalities. He actually admitted to Stephen A. Smith back in 2019 that a heated exchange with Warriors veteran Draymond Green was one factor in his decision, but also told the Wall Street Journal’s J.R. Moehringer that there were some deeper problems stemming from a lack of chemistry with his teammates.
“Definitely. For sure. I’m not gonna lie about it.”
–Kevin Durant on if his heated exchange with Draymond Green was a factor in his decision to leave the Warriors
(via @firsttake)
“I came in there wanting to be part of a group, wanting to be part of a family, and definitely felt accepted,” Durant told Moehringer. “But I’ll never be one of those guys. I didn’t get drafted there … Steph Curry, obviously drafted there. Andre Iguodala, won the first Finals, first championship. Klay Thompson, drafted there. Draymond Green, drafted there. And the rest of the guys kind of rehabilitated their careers there. So me? S**t, how you going to rehabilitate me? What you going to teach me? How can you alter anything in my basketball life? I got an MVP already. I got scoring titles.”
Durant added that it wasn’t a bad thing that he was different from the rest of the group that came together to become perennial title contenders, but said it was an issue that would never go away.
“And on top of that, the media always looked at it like KD and the Warriors. So it’s like nobody could [give] a full acceptance of me there,” he said.
Durant could be on track for another kind of reunion. Both the Warriors and Nets are seen as favorites to win their respective conferences, potentially setting the stage for an NBA Finals showdown between Durant and his former teammates.
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