It was already 10 years ago when Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder fell short against the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals after leading 3-1 in the series.
After that postseason, Durant shook up the league with his signing to Golden State in free agency, where he had a good run with the Thunder in the previous season.
The former MVP also led Oklahoma City into the Finals back in 2012, but with another tough loss against the Miami Heat.
Durant explained that leaving the Thunder has been tough for the fans who loved him, as they were just a few steps away from earning a title.
“Crazy because OKC loved having me there, simple as that. They loved having me around. So me just leaving out of nowhere when we were right there, right at the doorstep of the Finals? Yeah, I knew people were going to be pissed. But I couldn’t base my life off what everybody else wanted me to do,” Durant said in an appearance on Barstool Sports.
He said it was just all about new experiences and exploration, after playing nine seasons with the same franchise.
“It wasn’t just one thing, either. When you make a move that massive, it’s a whole bunch of different shit. But the biggest thing? I just wanted a new experience. I wanted to live in a different city, see what life was like somewhere else. OKC was literally all I knew.”
“I wanted to play for a different front office. I wanted to see how another organization ran things. And on top of all that, I wanted to play with guys who actually knew how to play, guys whose skill sets perfectly matched up with mine,” he added.
To this day, Durant also detailed a comparison after being with the Warriors, where they played perfect basketball under head coach Steve Kerr and earned two straight titles.
“And you saw the results when we stepped on the court. It wasn’t just that the Warriors were bigger, stronger, or faster than you. We actually played real, pure team basketball. We moved the ball, we hit shots, we were hyper-efficient. It worked out perfectly.”
Durant averaged 27.4 points, seven rebounds, and 3.7 assists during his 8-year tenure with Oklahoma City.
