Kevin Durant is probably amongst the most controversial players in the NBA.
Besides his social media antics (which involves him exchanging words with fans), it is his decision to join the Warriors back in 2016 that stirred the pot of criticism and hatred towards the former league MVP.
In the eyes of many, leaving your old team behind to go and join the team that beat you was weak. In KD’s case, that team had also just come off a 73-9 regular-season performance. Did he deserve those Championships? Did he take the easy way out?
When asked those questions on JJ Redick’s podcast “The Old Man & The Three,” Durant delivered a pretty blunt response.
“Nah. What does that even mean? I played at an elite level in the Finals. I earned that.”
KD says he earned those championships in Golden State and that he was never intrigued by the Knicks hype. pic.twitter.com/0KzEr5CYHd
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 10, 2020
Obviously, Durant and the Warriors did not part on the best of terms, and it is believed that the general discredit of his title wins has something to do with it.
It is true that KD was elite in not just the Finals, but also on every stage throughout his three-year tenure with the Dubs. We definitely played a huge hand in their success and nobody can take that way from him.
But he’s following himself if he thinks the path he took wasn’t the one of least resistance (basketball-wise) to a title. Putting aside all the fan/community hate, KD never had to worry about carrying his team or his teammates not showing up. He had the pleasure of playing with some of the greatest talents of the modern generation in Steph, Klay, and Draymond.
In Brooklyn, though, Kevin has the chance to stick to the naysayers once and for all by winning a title for a situation he helped build from the start. We’ll see soon enough how it works out for him.
