Kevin Durant throws shade at his former team the OKC Thunder and fanbase, saying no one knew him until he jumped ship for Golden State.
Former OKC Thunder forward Kevin Durant has sent shock waves through the NBA since entering the league in 2007. Whether that be from his electric play on the court, his interactions with the media where he tries to put on a tough guy act, joining a 73-win team, or his burner twitter accounts. KD’s presence is always felt.
Kevin Durant is currently a member of the Golden State Warriors who’ll tip off this evening in their fourth straight finals, second consecutive with KD. In his media availability Wednesday, the number two overall pick of the 2007 NBA Draft, 2013-14 MVP, four-time scoring champion, and 2007-08 Rookie of the Year states no one watched him play prior to moving Bayside.
Granted it was coyly done, but the implication was no one knew anything about him prior to his Warriors tenure.
https://twitter.com/SInow/status/1001913999179431936
Kevin Durant said: “A lot of people probably did not watch me play before I got to the Warriors. I was in the league before I got here (Golden State).”
Durant’s implications don’t match the proof:
Prior to signing with Golden State on July 4th, 2016 Kevin Durant was a member of the Seattle SuperSonics for a year before the organization made the transition into the Oklahoma City Thunder. He spent nine years in Oklahoma City, and was absolutely adored.
In June of 2015, Kevin Durant finished 11th in Jersey sales just ahead of his teammate Russell Westbrook who finished 13th. In the months of April-June, Durant was fourth in jersey sales that year. The Oklahoma City Thunder finished 8th in most popular team merchandise in 2015, due to the fun play on the court from Thunder buddies Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant.
Did you see me on TV?
The Oklahoma City Thunder were the fourth most watched team this year, without Kevin Durant. In Kevin Durant’s final year in Oklahoma City, the Thunder again had the fourth highest TV ratings in the NBA. A small market like Oklahoma City trailed just Golden State, Cleveland, and San Antonio in viewership. But no one watched KD play before 2016-17?
The Thunder, going by percent were top-5 in home attendance in 2015-16. Top-5 on the road, and top-10 overall. Yeah, no one watched Kevin Durant play while with Oklahoma City.
In 2014, still a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant inked a 10-year contract extension with NIKE. It’s worth 300-million dollars. That figure according to Forbes trails just Michael Jordan, and LeBron James. Yet, no one knew about KD in or outside Oklahoma City?
Kevin Durant was featured in an awful movie called Thunderstruck during his time in Oklahoma City. Durant opened his own restaurant, which was very successful.
We used to roll at the rink
Kevin Durant was a part of the first ever Oklahoma City Thunder squad in 2008. They started out practicing in an old skating rink, and had a horrid 2008 campaign when the team finished 23-59. Still though, fans came out to the then Ford Center finishing top-20 in attendance in their inaugural season. That would be the first, and last horrid season in Bricktown to date.
Fans quickly rallied behind their soon-to-be superstar Kevin Durant. Durant meant so much to the community, and in all fairness gave a lot back. It was a beautiful relationship, until that now-sour July 4th holiday in 2016.
From 2008-2016, Kevin Durant enjoyed the roar of the crowds in Oklahoma City. KD was protected by fans, and they did anything to make him feel like the cream of the crop. Kevin Durant could miss a wide open shot, and some would blame his partner Russell Westbrook, or blame then head coach Scott Brooks. No one would dare rip KD, in fact it was always everyone else who blew a game, a series, or the season. Kevin Durant was loved in Oklahoma City.
Inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 2015, that was just the beginning. Durant is a surefire Hall of Famer, establishing himself as the first ever great player in Thunder history. Durant was well on his way to going down as the best player in Thunder history before jumping ship.
Mixed Messages:
In the infamous ‘You the real MVP speech’ at the 20:04 mark Durant spoke about the OKC Thunder fans:
"‘The beautiful fans of Oklahoma City. I can’t say enough about you. guys. All the support you give our team. The home court advantage that we have is the best I’ve ever seen. We disappoint you guys sometimes, but we try our best every single night to win for you guys and we want to win a championship for you guys. This city, all you want if for us to be ourselves. You love us how we are. We’re all a work in progress as men and you still love us and I thank you so much for embracing us.’"
In the same speech Durant spoke about Westbrook glowingly. Funny how quickly things can change. Yet, this points to the Durant confusion as he often sends out mixed messages. More concerning (like this recent shade) is his timing and the very real evidence there is still resentment involved.
Take for instance last season. Fresh off winning the title and NBA Finals MVP, he chose to send shade to OKC with the ‘cupcake hat’. So, at the moment he achieved everything he wanted the thing on his mind was making sure to rub it in via a petty, salty message.
https://twitter.com/juliephayer/status/878719398000730112
Burning Bridges
While he is still the most talented player to ever grace the hardwood for Loud City, his legacy is shot. This leaves fans wondering if he will even get his jersey retired? Should he even get his jersey retired?
The answers to those questions may very well be yes, but Durant is making it difficult on himself. How can a fanbase, and an organization just excuse all of this slander? In Golden State, Kevin Durant will never be loved. He will never be in the in-crowd. He will never be one of their own.
Mr. Unreliable
Berry Tramel, and the folks at The Oklahoman apparently never got the ‘don’t bash KD memo’, penning an article about how unreliable then Thunder Star Kevin Durant was after a playoff loss to Memphis. However, that was the only time Kevin Durant experienced backlash from the media.
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- Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
- Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder
Tramel turned out to be right. KD is unreliable in more ways than just a playoff performance. This became glaringly true when he mislead OKC and then broke hearts on his way out the door. The fact he feels it’s necessary to continue to slam the organization, his teammates, and now the fans not only feels unnecessary, but like he’s looking to twist the knife.
Perhaps this is just another example of Durant making arbitrary conflicting statements. Or maybe the losses to the Thunder earlier this season are still resonating and he knows with a healthy Andre Roberson (and motivated Westbrook) the Thunder could be a problem next season. So, via these comments he’s letting free agents know to steer clear of OKC. What other reason could Durant possibly have for going out of his way to slam his former team and fans?
One thing is certain. Aside from loving to be the center of attention Kevin Durant has never been known to take advantage of timing. Case in point, with Bryan Colangelo dominating the news cycle for his apparent burner Twitter accounts leave it to Durant to stir up controversy via salty, petty comments.