Kevin Durant to Travel with Nets for Warriors Game Thursday, Jacque Vaughn Says

Kevin Durant is headed back to Golden State for the first time since he joined the Brooklyn Nets.

According to Alex Schiffer of The Athletic, Nets interim head coach Jacque Vaughn said the 10-time All-Star will accompany the team for the final three games of its four-game road trip. That means Durant will be at Chase Center on Thursday when the Nets face the Warriors.

Anthony Slater of The Athletic noted this is a change of plans considering the Warriors were previously told Durant wasn't going to be in attendance.

Durant played for the Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder for the first nine seasons of his career and won a regular-season MVP award in OKC. He then signed with the Warriors in 2016 and helped lead them to the NBA Finals in each of his three years in the Bay Area.

Golden State won two championships in his three seasons and fell short in 2019 in large part because he was injured in the NBA Finals. Durant won the NBA Finals MVP in each of Golden State's two championship runs and cemented himself as an integral part of the franchise's history even if he wasn't drafted by the team like Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

It would not be a surprise if the Warriors greeted him with a video tribute at some point Thursday.

Durant will accompany a Nets squad that is playing some of its best basketball of the season.

Brooklyn has won three in a row and four of its last five after an impressive performance Tuesday on the road. Spencer Dinwiddie hit what proved to be a game-winning shot in the final minute of a 104-102 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, who own the best record in the Western Conference at 49-14.

The Nets are only 30-34 but are currently the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference's playoff race.