Getty Kevin Durant and Draymond Green celebrate their gold medal win over France.
Kevin Durant and Draymond Green’s relationship hit a snag during his final year with the Golden State Warriors in 2018. KD was still undecided on if he would resign with the Warriors which began to upset Green. Those frustrations came to a head during a nationally televised game when the two former teammates had a very visible heated exchange.
During an appearance on “All the Smoke,” Durant revealed that moment played a key role in his decision to ultimately depart from the Warriors that summer.
“I’m just so confused at that point because he never did anything like that before,” Durant said. “Everybody on the bench was confused, too. … He started going off. … For him to say that type of s**t to me, it just threw me for a loop. I just started isolating myself after that cause I didn’t feel like nobody talked about it. It was just swept under the rug. And to me, it was just like, ‘We can move past it but let’s all talk about it ’cause that’s a huge moment in this whole dynasty.”
“I’m just so confused at that moment ’cause he ain’t ever did nothing like that before…I just started isolating myself after that ’cause nobody ever talked about it.”
Kevin Durant on infamous Warriors endgame vs the Clippers 🗣
(via @shobasketball)
Draymond Green, Kevin Durant Maintain Firm Relationship
Despite KD’s rocky exit from the Warriors, Green still has the utmost respect for the two-time NBA Finals MVP.
“No one in the world can stop him,” Draymond said of Durant via Mark Medina of USA Today after a game against the Brooklyn Nets in 2021.
“And even after playing tonight, I still don’t think anyone in the world can stop him”
Draymond Green’s takeaway on his time playing with Kevin Durant: “Just how no one in the world can stop him. And even after playing tonight, I still don’t think anyone in the world can stop him.” Draymond also raved about KD’s work ethic
Likewise, Durant still has respect for his former Warrior teammates and maintains great relationships with them to this day.
“It’s good to see from afar that everyone’s doing well and realize that these bonds we created will never be broken,” Durant told Keith Burke of NBC Sports Bay Area.
“No matter what jerseys we put on, no matter what part of the country we all live in….. I’m very grateful for my time in the Bay Area and I’ll always be a Warrior in my heart.”
Kevin Durant Sounds off on Thunder Exit
One of the biggest what-ifs in NBA history continues to be the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder had home-grown and developed their super team after selecting James Harden, Durant, and Russell Westbrook in consecutive NBA Drafts, all of whom would go on to win the NBA Most Valuable Player award at some point in their careers.
The Thunder built a contender and even made it to the NBA Finals in 2012 when they faced off against LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and the Miami Heat but ultimately fell to them in five games. Oklahoma City never got a chance to run it back as the Thunder traded Harden to the Houston Rockets just before the start of the following season.
Durant detailed his decision to ultimately part from the franchise that drafted him on an episode of “Chips” with Draymond Green
“It was a basketball decision, but I also didn’t give a f***. I felt like I was absolutely the perfect fit on both sides of the ball for the Warriors and I felt like my game reached a point where I had to really see what that looked like. I felt like that move was a no-brainer,” Durant said.
”I always knew that I wanted to end up in Golden State even though I had to go through the process of all those meetings. Just the way you guys handled yourselves in interviews, the way you guys played, I knew that’s where I wanted to be.”
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Suns’ Kevin Durant Sends Strong Message to Warriors’ Draymond Green