When Kevin Durant joined the Golden State Warriors in 2016, he made them one of the greatest teams in NBA history. You were adding a 4-time scoring champion and former MVP to a team that had just won an NBA record 73 games in a regular season, which ensured that the rest of the league didn’t stand a chance.
The Warriors crushed the competition in Durant’s time there, as they avenged their loss to the Cavaliers in 2016 by beating them in the 2017 and 2018 Finals. They were an unstoppable juggernaut and you were left wondering just how much they might end up winning together, but that 2018 title was it. The Warriors returned to the Finals in 2019, but injuries to Durant and Klay Thompson meant they couldn’t overcome the Raptors and in the offseason, Durant left for the Nets.
Klay Thompson Says The Warriors Don’t Blame Kevin Durant For Leaving Them In 2019
Tensions had been rising behind the scenes despite all the success they were having and eventually, KD just wanted to get out of there. It has been reported that he didn’t feel he was getting the love and respect he deserved for their success, so he left to build his own team. While many didn’t like Durant joining the Warriors, they also felt it was absurd for him to leave considering all the success they were having, but Klay says the Warriors don’t blame KD for leaving.
(starts at 1:05:15 mark):
“I don’t blame him, we don’t blame Kevin for leaving at all. He is from the East Coast, and if I was on the East Coast and if I was two games away from a three-peat, it’s like, ‘What more do y’all want from me, man? You want a six-peat?’ If it wasn’t for catastrophic things, we probably would have had three championships in that time, but man, we don’t blame him at all.”
It is good that they don’t blame him for leaving, but it has proven to be a terrible decision by Durant. Sure, the Warriors were a mess for the first two years after he left, but once they were fully healthy, they went on to win another championship. KD, meanwhile, has won 1 playoff series since joining the Nets and it is doubtful if he’d ever win another championship.
During this episode, Klay also defended Durant from all the bus rider comments aimed at him. He said that it bothers him when people don’t talk about KD’s greatness and he really was the driving force behind those two championships that they won together, so he doesn’t deserve to have that label on him.
