Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors will try for their third straight NBA title when the NBA playoffs tips off on Saturday. It’s something that hasn’t been done in the NBA in decades, and for the Warriors it’s the driving point for what’s been a rocky regular season campaign.
Much of that has centered around Durant, and what might happen with his pending free agency once a champion is crowned. Many feel he’s headed elsewhere, and the three-year stop in Golden State was merely to throw off the competitive balance of the NBA, gain some hardware, and move on with the rest of his career.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Faced with a similar opportunity, it’s tough to criticize any NBA player for joining the best team in the league and thriving around some legendary talent. But Durant has faced a unique set of criticisms for doing just that, and it’s something he’s had to address over and over again since joining the Warriors.
But according to an interview with The Athletic, all of that talk has been worth the reward.
“I came here knowing for a fact, that every media member, every fan was going to call me every name in the book for however long I was here and I was going to take the brunt of everything. I knew coming here,” Durant said. “But I wanted to be a part of this so bad, I didn’t give a f*ck. Same with LeBron. He took all of that heat, no matter what.”
Durant is certainly no stranger to responding to criticism, and much of that has come from his willingness to address it online and with the media. But Durant says the winning championships and MVPs has validated his time in Golden State. And he offered some unique perspective to how people look at his career: he’s always been a nomad in a sense.
“I’m from Washington, D.C. I went to Oklahoma City for eight years. Out of nowhere, I went to the Bay for three years,” Durant said. “I’ve been roaming my whole life. I never had no stable environment. Ever. Ever. Since I woke up. I sacrificed a lot of shit to be here and to change my game up to be with these guys. And it was worth it.”
That kind of reasoning isn’t going to quiet his critics, many who feel he’s changed the NBA in a way the Association won’t be able to undo. But Durant seems happy. And he should be. The Warriors are favorites once more, and he holds all the cards with regard to what happens next after that.
