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Kevin Durant spent only three seasons with the Golden State Warriors but in his mind, he should be remembered for all time as one of the team’s greats.
In an interview with Logan Murdock of “The Ringer” that was featured in a piece published on Thursday, March 31, the former NBA MVP said that both of his former teams — the Warriors and the Oklahoma City Thunder (OKC) — must retire his jersey in order to respect the game of basketball.
“OKC has to retire my jersey. It wouldn’t even be good for the game of basketball if they didn’t,” Durant said. “The same with Golden State.”
Durant continued, noting what he believes it will take for his current team, the Brooklyn Nets, to retire his number.
“I’m still doing what I’m doing here in Brooklyn, but if I continue on what I’m doing four or five years, then I’ll feel the same way about this program,” Durant added. “I better have a home. Because I feel like I am basketball. I breathe it. This is my DNA. I put in the time and respect and love for each one of these programs on and off the floor to get that type of recognition. If I don’t do it, then it’s personal.”
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Durant’s Time in Golden State Was Short, But Highly Successful
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GettyBrooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant is defended by Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry during a 2020 regular season game.
Durant arrived to Golden State in 2016 after spending his first nine NBA seasons in Oklahoma City. He remained with the Warriors for only three years, but an amazing three years they were.
The Dubs earned trips to the NBA Finals each season Durant was a member of the team, winning back-to-back championships in 2017 and 2018. He won Finals MVP in both of those series, as well. Golden State also reached the Finals in 2019, losing to the Toronto Raptors in six games after Durant suffered a torn achilles tendon and Klay Thompson tore his ACL.
Durant was an All-Star selection all three years he played with the Warriors, an honor he has earned in 12 of his 15 professional seasons. The only three times he failed to earn that distinction were his rookie year, his sophomore season and in 2020, when he missed the entire campaign due to the injured achilles.
Case Against Durant’s Jersey Retirement is That Dubs Were Never ‘His’ Team
GettySteph Curry (left) and Kevin Durant (right) take the court together in a game for the Golden State Warriors.
While Durant produced great numbers — averaging between 25.1-26.4 points to go along with 6.4-8.3 rebounds and 4.8-5.9 assists per game during each of his three years with the Dubs — it can be argued that he was not even the best player on the team. Some would serve up that distinction to two-time NBA MVP Steph Curry.
Regardless of the hair-splitting done to say one was better than the other, there is one fact that simply can’t be disputed — even if Durant was the best player on the Warriors for those three seasons, Golden State was never his team. The franchise always has, and always will, belong to Curry.
The other argument against Durant is that he took the easy path by joining the Warriors. In his career, Durant has appeared in four NBA Finals. Three of those were in Golden State, as were both of his Finals victories. The Warriors were a team that had already made two consecutive Finals appearances, won an NBA title and earned the best regular season record in the history of the league before Durant ever arrived there.
Maybe three years is enough time to retire a player’s jersey when there is as much success as the Dubs achieved while Durant played there, and maybe it isn’t. But the debate surrounding Durant’s claim on history in the Bay sure is a fun one to have.
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