Kevin Durant: It's Bad for Basketball If Thunder, Warriors Don't Retire My Jersey

Every basketball player dreams of someday seeing their number in the rafters.

Kevin Durant thinks he's already earned it twice.

Durant told Logan Murdock of The Ringer that it would be bad for the game of basketball if the Oklahoma City Thunder or Golden State Warriors chose not to retire his number over bad blood from his departure from the two franchises. 

"Every one of these places I played is my home. I can imagine me when I'm done, and I don't think any one of these franchises would be like, 'No, K, what you did here is not a part of our history.' I'm going to be a Hall of Famer when I'm done, one of the greatest to ever play. If you don't want me to be a part of your program when I'm done playing, then that's personal.

"OKC has to retire my jersey. It wouldn't even be good for the game of basketball if they didn't. The same with Golden State. I'm still doing what I'm doing here in Brooklyn, but if I continue on what I'm doing four or five years, then I'll feel the same way about this program. I better have a home. Because I feel like I am basketball. I breathe it. This is my DNA. I put in the time and respect and love for each one of these programs on and off the floor to get that type of recognition. If I don't do it, then it's personal.”

Hyperbole aside—basketball would be totally fine if the franchises declined to retire his number—Durant is 100 percent correct in saying he's earned it.

The Seattle SuperSonics left a bustling market with a loyal fanbase to carve out owner Clay Bennett's vision to bring NBA basketball to Oklahoma City. Without Durant and the success his arrival brought to the franchise, it's unclear whether Oklahoma City ever would have developed a taste for NBA basketball. Fans can be bitter about the circumstances surrounding his departure, but Durant (and Russell Westbrook) built the fanbase with their bare hands.

Durant's run in Golden State was a three-year sojourn that made people feel like the team was ruining basketball. That's how good Durant made the already-great Warriors. The 2016-17 Warriors are arguably the greatest basketball team ever assembled. Durant was the best player on the best team in NBA history; that alone is enough to merit his jersey hanging forever.

Like his OKC exit, Durant's departure from Golden State polarized the fanbase, but time has a way of healing wounds. By the time Durant is ready to hang up his Nikes, any hurt feelings will likely be soothed over.