Kevin Durant Didn't Join Wizards Because He 'Didn't Want to Play at Home'

Kevin Durant was the biggest story in the NBA last summer when he signed with the Golden State Warriors. While fans from around the league were upset he didn't choose their team, those in the Washington D.C., area were especially disappointed.

The 28-year-old superstar grew up in the nation's capital and its surrounding suburbs. He went to high school at Montrose Christian in nearby Rockville, Maryland.

With Durant set to return home to face the Washington Wizards on Tuesday, he explained to Tim Bontemps and Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post why he never even gave that squad a chance in free agency:

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I don't want to open up anything in the past, but I really just didn't want to play at home. It was nothing about the fans. Being at home, I was so happy with that part of my life — playing at home, being in front of friends, hanging with friends and family every day. That was a part of my life that has come and gone.

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He said his goal growing up was simply to move out of the poverty-stricken areas in which he was raised, something he did by traveling to Texas for college and moving on to the NBA.

"I did everything I was supposed to do in the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area, I felt. Now it's time to do something new," Durant added. "It had nothing to do with basketball, the fans, the city."

While Oklahoma City Thunder fans were the most vocally upset when the former MVP left the franchise for a Western Conference rival after nine years, he at least gave the squad a fair chance. The Wizards weren't even considered a destination, with none of his six meetings going to Washington.

Even with a tattoo that reads "Maryland" and another of the Washington Nationals logo, his love of home wasn't enough to sign with the Wizards.

Washington remains in good shape to contend in the Eastern Conference with a 34-23 record, but adding an eight-time All-Star definitely would have helped.