• Julius Erving berates Kevin Durant for changing multiple superteams during his NBA career
• Erving isn’t a fan of the modern culture of superteams
• Kevin Durant will be playing for the fifth superteam of his NBA career following Bradley Beal’s arrival in Phoenix
Up until 2016, Kevin Durant was one of the most beloved players in the NBA. He gave nine years of his career to the Oklahoma City Thunder, but couldn’t win a championship.
Since then, Durant has hopped from one superteam to another to win rings. NBA legend Julius Erving recently went on a lengthy rant about the superteam culture ruining the league. The former Philadelphia 76ers pinned most of the blame on Durant.
“These guys, the prisoners, are running the show and not the warden,” Erving said. “A star player on a team is like, ‘Screw this city and all the support they’ve given me, and I’m going South. I’m going to Florida, or I’m going to LA, or I’m going to Texas, or I’m going somewhere else.’ These are business decisions, I understand.
“But they haven’t helped the game. They have not helped to keep the parity within the game when you build these superteams.”
Erving then berated Durant for hopping around to play for new superteams.
“Wherever he goes, he’ll probably finish his career there because of his age and the fact he’s played 12-13 years, and he wants a chance to win a championship,” Erving added. “He doesn’t think he can get it there, that’s a good reason for him. A guy who’s 26 or 27 just hopping around, look at how many times Durant has hopped around.”
Dame, KD, Super Teams…. Dr. J has thoughts! 😳👀 pic.twitter.com/ZC2FTe8EFs
— Joy De’Angela (@joydeangela) July 28, 2023
Julius Erving, who stayed loyal to the 76ers throughout his 10-year-long career in the NBA, isn’t a fan of Durant’s team hopping.
KD will turn 35 years old later this year and will be playing his second season for the Phoenix Suns. He averaged 29.1 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 5.0 APG in the 2022-23 season, but couldn’t carry the Suns past the second round. They were eliminated by the Denver Nuggets in six games.
Kevin Durant Will Be Playing For The Fifth Superteam Of His NBA Career In The 2023-24 Season
Kevin Durant was selected as the second overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Oklahoma City (then the Seattle Supersonics). It didn’t take long for KD to play for his first superteam with the rise of Russell Westbrook and James Harden.
Granted, the OKC trio was still in their early 20s when they were together, but they still advanced to the 2012 NBA Finals. The Thunder were defeated there in five games by the Miami Heat.
In 2016, Kevin Durant infamously joined Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green to play for the Golden State Warriors. Durant spent three seasons with the Warriors, reaching the NBA Finals each year and winning two rings. Following his stint with the Dubs, KD’s career trajectory started to go down.
In 2020, Durant played for his third superteam, this time around with the Brooklyn Nets. The 2020-21 Nets had the trio of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden. Unfortunately, the Nets’ Big broke up with Harden demanding a trade in the middle of the 2021-22 NBA season as their run was severely underwhelming.
During the 2022-23 NBA season, Durant demanded a trade, and his request was granted. KD was sent to the Phoenix Suns. He formed another Big 3 with Devin Booker, Chris Paul, and himself. The Suns couldn’t make a deep playoff run despite having Deandre Ayton as well.
Lastly, the Suns traded Chris Paul to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Bradley Beal. Hence, Durant will play for the fifth superteam of his career for the 2023-24 NBA season as he will enter the court with Booker, Beal, and Ayton.
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