Former OKC Thunder star and future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant has had a legendary yet unique career, marked by both heroics and villainy while donning several jerseys.
His latest pit stop with the Houston Rockets hasn't exactly been smooth sailing, and, in a recent postgame sound bite, he may have unintentionally given insight into why.
After a dismal performance in a loss against the Los Angeles Lakers Monday night, Durant elected to bypass analysis of the game and talk about himself, capping his comments off with the words, "I'm the offense."
At first glance, the comment rings extremely false. While KD leads Houston with 25.8 points per game, three other players average over 15.0 points, and five average double-digits.
Both Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun average more assists than him, and three of the Rockets' other four starters turn the ball over less.
What the response really comes down to is something that has plagued Durant throughout his career. It is the reason he left Oklahoma City, and it is the reason he has spent the latter half of his career jumping from city to city.
And it can be summed up by one word: ego.
Kevin Durant has been his own worst enemy
Durant has been widely accepted as one of the most gifted basketball players ever to play the game. Great things were expected out of him throughout his tenure with the Thunder, but he chose to leave for an already-stacked Warriors team in 2016, where he won his only two rings.
Durant's career has been a saga of squandered opportunities and what-ifs after his back-to-back titles out in the Bay Area. In fact, many critics have gone so far as to label his entire career a disappointment.
Since abandoning the Thunder, Durant has struggled to get out of his own way. He has been seen arguing with fans during games and has taken the term "keyboard warrior" to another level on social media. X, formerly known as Twitter, has been his Achilles heel.
Much of his current team's struggles appear to stem from his online antics. Earlier this year, he was accused of running a burner account to trash former teammates. While the accusations remain unproven, pundits say it has caused an irreparable rift in the Houston locker room.
His latest "I'm the offense" remark is just another example of his inflated self-image getting in the way of his unprecedented talent.
Even at age 37, he can't seem to shake the immaturity that has plagued his career.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is everything Thunder hoped Durant would be
After the Kevin Durant-Russell Westbrook era ended in underwhelming fashion, franchise successor Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has rewritten the script of what it means to be a star in Bricktown.
In many ways, the reigning MVP shows uncanny similarities to KD -- both are players with a nose for the hoop, boast lanky builds and a shifty play style, and are undeniably lethal in the mid-range -- but his persona is everything Durant wishes his was.
Unlike the Rockets forward, Shai handles postgame interviews with poise. He shows no signs of ego or ill will towards players. He actively avoids discussing his legacy and accomplishments and cares more about winning than anything else.
Even though SGA has been publicly lambasted on multiple occasions this season, he has elected to largely ignore the criticism and focus on the task at hand -- winning another ring.
It is no wonder that the 27-year-old has taken the league by storm over the past four seasons. His rare combination of skill and humility is something the NBA is unaccustomed to, given its history of having stars like Durant diving headfirst into drama and controversy.
While KD continues to drown in his own legacy, Gilgeous-Alexander is cementing his by focusing on what's most important and is helping Thunder fans heal from past trauma in the process.