Kevin Durant is one of the best players in the modern era of basketball and always deserved to be in contention for the NBA Championship every season. However, KD realized the ceiling of his OKC Thunder in 2017 and left in an infamous move to the Golden State Warriors, where he won 2 championships alongside Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Andre Iguodala.
After all the scrutiny that KD faced for going to the Warriors, he left the team the first chance he got and signed with the Brooklyn Nets, teaming up with close friend Kyrie Irving, who was coming from the Celtics. Since 2019, the Nets have put out one fire after the other and it seems their reign together will end after this season, with a second-round appearance in 2021 as their best finish.
With Kyrie’s contract up and the anti-Semitic controversy he is embroiled in, fans decided to mock KD’s decision to leave the Warriors.
KD really left this for Kyrie. pic.twitter.com/9KVNlqLpXW
— StatMuse (@statmuse) November 4, 2022
KD, so far, has had to deal with Ben Simmons recovering, Kyrie/NBA Drama, and a lingering shoulder injury and he’s still averaging 30 off a broken achilles LMAO
Respect they BEST Player in the league.
— NoTwennyFive (@NoTwennyFive) November 4, 2022
Rings?
— M (@hndrxxwizrd__) November 4, 2022
Raptors will save his career don’t worry
— Sad_Raptors_Fan (@Sad_Raptors_Fan) November 4, 2022
He also wasn’t aggressive enough to join Booker, CP3, and Ayton. Come on KD
— KKA (@PKKANBA) November 4, 2022
This the Kyrie KD thought he was getting pic.twitter.com/dp9TnG3FNj
— Osh (@itsoshh) November 4, 2022
https://twitter.com/LouAye_/status/1588322388009136129https://twitter.com/Heat_YB/status/1588322429096513536
KD thought he was that guy 😭 finals MVPs tricked y’all
— DRP ™ (@DrayRimPressure) November 4, 2022
They gave him two rings fym 💀
— Jay (@HoodiJay_) November 4, 2022
Fans can’t have it both ways. KD would have been criticized if he stayed with the Warriors with people delegitimizing his championships by virtue of his being on the team. Now that the Nets experiment failed, it’s easy to make fun of KD for this error in judgment.
What Went Wrong For Kevin Durant In Brooklyn?
Kevin Durant is one of the only stable influences that the Nets have had in the last 3 seasons. He was injured for the entirety of his debut season but played like arguably the best player in the world during his comeback season. The Nets had a great window at a title, but injuries in the 2021 Playoffs collapsed that.
KD evidently wanted to stay in Brooklyn, signing a 4-year extension the second he was eligible. However, Kyrie and James Harden refused to sign extensions with Harden asking out of the team soon enough and being sent to the Philadelphia 76ers.
A lot of the issues for KD have been a result of Kyrie Irving, be it the collapse last season because Irving not playing made Harden ask for a trade. In addition, Irving has added a lot of controversies this season also.
The Nets have started with a 2-6 record, fired their coach, suspended their second-best player, and are once again waiting for Kevin Durant to magically make them a playoff team.
