Getty Suns star Kevin Durant
When Kevin Durant requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, the Phoenix Suns were his preferred destination.
The two-time champion and two-time Finals MVP explained to Melissa Rohlin of FOX Sports why that was the case.
“It was just the chemistry, the camaraderie they built the last couple of years that was intriguing,” Durant said. “But that is part of it. You got guys over here who love to play ball, who (have) gotten better over the years. I thought it would be a great team to build with.”
With Durant, Chris Paul, Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton leading the way, the Suns are the popular pick to win the title this season. Phoenix went a perfect 8-0 with Durant in the lineup during the regular season.
“He’s one of the best to ever do it, as simple as that,” Booker said about Durant. “His game is the type of game that translates with any type of team, really. You could put him in with anybody and he’s going to be efficient. He’s going to play the right way, too. He’s the one of the best to ever do it on both sides of the ball.”
Durant averaged 26.0 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists while shooting 57.0% from the field, 53.7% from beyond the arc and 83.3% from the free-throw line in eight regular-season games with the Suns. The four-time scoring champion will face his former teammate, Russell Westbrook, in the first round of the 2023 playoffs.
Kevin Durant Knows Russell Westbrook Is Going to Play Hard
Durant and Westbrook were teammates for eight seasons on the Oklahoma City Thunder, so KD knows Russ is going to play extremely hard versus the Suns.
“I think Russ is competitive against any player he plays against,” Durant said on April 12. “I don’t think it was just specific to me. I think a lot of the fans and the people that were watching, it was high-intensity for them, it was entertainment for them. So for us players, it’s just another game, it’s regularly scheduled programming, but Russ is that way. I’ve played with him for so long and watched him for so long, he was that way against everybody. So I don’t expect anything different.”
Westbrook, who began the season with the Los Angeles Lakers, averaged 15.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 7.6 assists with the Los Angeles Clippers after signing with them. The NBA’s all-time leader in triple-doubles is looking forward to playing against Durant for the first time in the playoffs.
“I think people still think like there’s some beef or something. There’s no beef of any. So I think that’s the good narrative for media for people to talk about, but there’s no beef,” Westbrook said on April 12. “I got nothing but respect for him and things he’s done with his career and happy to see him back from injury. There’s no beef at all, but he knows I’m gonna compete and I know he’s gonna compete and that’s all it is.”
Kevin Durant: ‘I Want to Dictate When I’m Done’
Durant, 34, told Rohlin that he wants full control over his career.
“I want to dictate when I’m done,” Durant said. “I don’t want the league or injuries to dictate when I’m out the league … All the other stuff about proving and expectations and all that s—? I just want to keep hooping every day, enjoying myself. And when it’s time, I want to make that decision.”
Durant has career postseason averages of 29.4 points.