Why Kevin Durant Saved his Legacy by Going to Golden State (parts -1,0, and 1)

Part -1, The End:

At 8:49pm pacific time on May 30th 2016, Kevin Durant walked off the floor at Oracle Arena amid confetti, jubilant fans, and a bright flashing message across the Jumbo-Tron that read “Western Conference Champions”. The only problem: Durant was on the losing team, Oklahoma City. A franchise that had, in 2010, the top three scorers in the NBA today. With a core of James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and Kevin Durant the Thunder amassed 1 NBA Finals appearance before letting go of Harden, and then failed to make it back to the finals in 4 subsequent seasons. While Durant was clearly the best player on the team since joining the franchise in 2007, (he won MVP in the 2013-2014 season) they failed to bring home a title. In his MVP season, they faltered in the conference finals, and lost to the eventual champion Spurs in 6 games. After last season, a year in which the Thunder had not one, not two, but three chances to win the Western Conference, and dropped all three, it seemed that Durant’s future just was not in the cards at OKC. Setting aside the poor roster moves, the failure to surround Durant with key role players (the Udonis Haslem, Shane Battier, Tristan Thompson type), and Russell Westbrook ball-dominant style of play, Kevin Durant could have stayed in OKC and sustained his Hall of Fame quality career, yet odds are, he wouldn’t have won an NBA title.

Part 0, Restart:

Durant decided to start fresh, and that meant undergoing a complete pivot in the prime of his career: joining the Golden State Warriors. After the Thunder lost to the Warriors in the 2016 Western Conference Finals, Durant was forced to confront himself as a person, player, and entity on and off the court. His legacy needed a ring, and Golden State was the surefire way to guarantee that, combined with having some fun along the way. Sure, Durant could have stayed in OKC, but clearly that path had been beaten down to a pulp. Instead of playing as the free flowing, ball-moving, team leader that he truly is, Durant was cornered into the role of only a scorer during his time on in OKC. Sure, he won the MVP award, but the Thunder averaged the least number of assists per game as a team last season, with Durant seldom touching the ball once he passed it on an offensive possession. Thus, Durant had to think about his legacy, and more importantly, think about having fun. While he dominated in OKC, the constant struggle of playoff chemistry with Russell Westbrook decreased his on and off the court morale.

Part 1, Precursor:

The Golden State Warriors play basketball the way it is meant to be played. In the 2014-2015 NBA season they won the NBA Championship behind league MVP Stephen Curry. Then in 15-16’, they backed up their performance from the previous season by amassing an NBA record 73-9 record, as Curry cruised to his second league MVP award. Yet they came up short when it mattered most: the NBA finals. Leading the Cleveland Cavaliers 3-1 in a best of 7 game series, Golden State lost games 5, 6, and 7, handing Cleveland the 2016 NBA championship. Had Golden State won the championship, Durant could not have joined them. How do you break apart, or significantly change the back-to-back NBA champions? You don’t. Or more simply, you can’t. However, their loss opened the door for Durant, as Golden State thought, “huh maybe we do need to change”. Yet Golden State had to get rid of some key members from their back-to-back western conference championship mini two-year dynasty roster: Marreese Speights, Harrison Barnes, Andrew Bogut, and Leandro Barbosa. Yet they added JaVale Magee, Zaza Pachulia, and of course, Kevin Durant. The table was set, now Durant had to figure out what he wanted to eat.