Setting the Record Straight on the Kevin Durant Era in Oklahoma City
It’s difficult to understate just how revered Kevin Durant was in the state of Oklahoma prior to July 4, 2016.
Sure, Durant is a future Hall of Famer who played for the local professional basketball team. That was certainly a significant part of the love affair. But he was also the good-natured person who carried a bible and an iPad in his backpack and played flag football during the NBA lockout.
When he talked, his smile seemed to range from the Oklahoma panhandle to the northeast corner of the state; from Guymon to Miami (little known fact: Oklahoma has a city named Miami, but it’s pronounced MY-am-UH).
He frequently spoke of “loving it” here. In 2015 he said that he would love to “stick it out with one team” his whole career. He championed the “Kobe, Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki” types who were one-franchise mainstays. And when Oklahomans needed help, Durant delivered through his foundation and threw his influence around to rally support from others.
On the other hand, many fans were slow to accept fellow Hall of Famer Russell Westbrook. They associated Westbrook with his postgame press conference scowls and walled-off nature. Naturally, Thunder fans didn’t seem to fully embrace Westbrook until Durant left.
When the Thunder lost a game, observers were more likely to grumble about Westbrook turnovers than wide-open Durant misses. When Durant received harsh criticism, fans rebelled. When the unfortunate “Mr. Unreliable” headline ran in The Oklahoman, the backlash from fans caused the paper to issue a rare public apology.
Understandably, the Thunder had hopes for a lifetime arrangement with Durant as well. As someone close to the front office once told me, hopefully to an exaggerated degree, “they would have helped Kevin bury a dead body.” Perhaps better stated: The team felt it had done all it could, within reason, to support Durant.
In the end, Durant signed with the Warriors. The Thunder fanbase that felt it was on the cusp of celebrating an NBA title began the five stages of grief, and many are stuck on stage two—anger. Though some wrote off the move as mere ring-chasing, others searched deeper for answers. Durant and the Thunder were synonymous with each other. He seemed content here. The team was prepared to come back better than ever. What went wrong?
The day after Durant’s announcement on The Player’s Tribune, Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck wrote that Durant’s frustration with Westbrook finally pushed him away, according to a person with insight into his thought process. Durant denied that report during Team USA training camp later that month. “No, it wasn't (a reason I left),” Durant said of Westbrook. “It wasn't." Yet he didn’t give any other explanation.
During that same Team USA interview, Durant spoke fondly about his Thunder experience. “We had some great years, some great players that came through there,” Durant said. “Two great coaches came through there. The arena was great. The fans were great. Nothing's going to change about Thunder basketball – what they stand on, what the organization stands on is not going to change. That wasn't built by just me. That was the whole community. That was the whole team. That was the whole organization that built what they have. It's further than what I did.”
Though asked often, Durant avoided getting specific about his reasons for leaving Oklahoma City.
He finally opened up in surprising fashion when he tweeted—perhaps accidentally—his most revealing thoughts yet late Sunday night. In response to a fan question about why he left Oklahoma City, Durant responded, “He didn’t like the organization or playing for Billy Donovan,” Durant wrote in the third person. “His roster wasn’t that good, it was just him and russ,” he continued. “Imagine taking russ off that team, see how bad they were. Kd can’t win a championship with those cats.”
While these may be Durant’s true feelings, they run counter to what he has said publicly. As seen with his denial of the aforementioned Bleacher Report article, it’s not atypical. And it’s fair to wonder if his reasoning makes sense.
Calling out Donovan was odd. According to people close to Durant and the team, he never seemed to have an issue with the coach. He referred to “two great coaches” in that Team USA interview, and it’s safe to assume he was referring to Donovan and Scott Brooks. Durant has since said that he reached out to Donovan to apologize.
It would seem Durant is either ignoring or greatly discounting his 2016 Thunder squad that had a 3-1 lead on the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals. Certainly, the team consisted largely of specialists outside of the two star players. That was mostly by design in order to accentuate the Thunder duo.
Take a co-star off of any number of NBA champions and that team doesn’t win titles either. Kobe Bryant Lakers squads without Shaquille O’Neal or Pau Gasol likely don’t win titles. The ‘90s Bulls are merely a really good team without Michael Jordan or Scottie Pippen. And how good would last season’s Houston Rockets have been if James Harden were removed?
If Durant really felt the roster wasn’t good enough, then why was it as successful as it was? And does he truly hold it against the team that three straight seasons were derailed due to untimely injuries to key players, himself included?
It further complicates how Durant will be remembered in Oklahoma City. Without him, the team isn’t a perennial Finals contender. Yet he came up short in some big playoff moments, and he seems to be throwing blame elsewhere for that. And more than a year after he left, he’s still trying to explain himself to random Twitter passerbys.
Further, Durant revealed in an interview with San Francisco magazine that the blowback to his decision to sign with Golden State made him hit “rock bottom.” In the article, he claimed that the reaction of his peers was “the only thing I care about.” But unless @ColeCashwell is actually Kyle Lowry or Kevin Love, it seems he cares more about public perception than he’ll admit.
Clearly, Durant understands on some level that his choice to sign with the Warriors wasn’t universally popular. Tough decisions, including selfish ones, rarely are. Leaving Oklahoma City obviously pained him. It should be noted that losing relationships he built over eight years bothers him.
The aftermath of his Twitter outburst affected him as well. Fans in Oklahoma are still burned up. There’s nothing he could say or explain to smooth that over. Debating with random Twitter accounts—as himself or as @TwitterUser35—isn’t going to make this go away either.
Durant’s number will still hang in Chesapeake Energy Arena one day whether he left because of the coach or the roster or because he couldn’t pass up a chance to join a special team. Roasting his former team will only make matters worse. Just as fans should step back and appreciate what they had, Durant should as well.
And judging by his willingness to keep revisiting this topic, it’s safe to assume he does.
Jon Hamm covers the OKC Thunder for Bleacher Report and The Daily Thunder. Follow him on Twitter at @JonMHamm.
