Kevin Durant might have had a short stint with the Brooklyn Nets which didn’t result in any material success for the franchise, but he’s still one of the best players to ever put on a Nets jersey. Ahead of his first return to Brooklyn as a member of the Suns, Durant has explained why he doesn’t think he deserves a tribute video from the franchise.
“What did I do to deserve that? Seriously, or is it because of my name? I’m just another player, man. I don’t deserve none of this extra attention, everybody looking at me when the game starts. The game is about all the players on the court. It ain’t about me. I was there for three years, four years and we didn’t accomplish anything worth being celebrated for. That’s just how I feel… I didn’t feel like I stayed there long enough. I didn’t put in enough work. I didn’t leave a lasting impact.”
Durant recently sent out a social media post where he actively says that his return to Brooklyn would be better without a tribute video. He further discussed the matter with Duane Rankin, who clarified his comments further.
“I’m not expecting people to praise me or honor me,” Durant said. “I didn’t even pose the question. Somebody else brought it up randomly out of nowhere. I just gave them my input on that. I don’t feel like I deserve one. I didn’t feel like I stayed there long enough. I didn’t put in enough work. I didn’t leave a lasting impact.”
Durant was a three-time All-Star on the Nets and made one All-NBA team with the franchise, a pretty average resume given the lack of playoff success.
Kevin Durant’s Time In Brooklyn Doesn’t Need A Tribute
Most players don’t decline tribute videos like that, so it was odd to see why KD was so against the idea of a video for himself. It makes more sense with the explanation he gave, as Durant didn’t achieve anything special in Brooklyn.
Durant joined the Nets in 2019 and missed his first season while recovering from a torn Achilles suffered in the 2019 NBA Finals. He was back for the 2020-21 season, their best shot at winning a title in this era. Injuries led to that version of the Nets collapsing in the second round to eventual champions Milwaukee Bucks, with Durant being the only healthy Nets star in that series after injuries to Kyrie Irving and James Harden.
By the 2022 playoffs, the team had made so many big trades to appease Durant and Kyrie Irving that their asset cabinet was bare as the team fell to a first-round sweep to the eventual finalists, Boston Celtics. The team didn’t make it to the 2023 Playoffs with their star duo, as Durant was dealt to the Suns after Kyrie forced his way out of the franchise and ended up with the Dallas Mavericks.
He was one of the best players to walk through the franchise but the toxicity around his time on the team meant that they had no tangible success together. Honoring him just because he’s Kevin Durant seems hollow, as even the forward understands he had to achieve a lot more than what he did in Brooklyn.
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