Kevin Durant Chose Being A Champion Over Being A “God”
By Kevin Saito
Kevin Durant touched off a firestorm of controversy by signing with the Golden State Warriors – controversy that overlooks the fact that it was his desire to secure his legacy that led him to sign in the first place.
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Well things certainly escalated quickly, didn’t they? When Kevin Durant chose to sign with the Golden State Warriors, he probably expected to get some blowback for his decision. He probably didn’t expect the sheer amount of blowback with everybody from pundits, current and former NBA stars to Commissioner Adam Silver, getting in line to throw some shade at Durant and the Warriors.
To hear everybody screaming, ranting, and cursing the world – not to mention Golden State and Durant personally – there is no reason to play the next season. The Warriors are going to go 82-0 and win the whole thing. Might as well shut it all down and not even play next season, right? All of the sound and the fury about Durant signing with the Warriors in the first place is overlooking the biggest thing – why he did it.
To hear Charles Barkley tell it, Durant signed with Golden State to “cheat” his way to a ring – conveniently overlooking the fact that he did the same exact thing when he signed with the Houston Rockets later in his career. But hey, a little bit of hypocrisy doesn’t matter when you’re on a righteous rant, right?
It’s a sentiment that a lot of people seem to be sharing though. The prevailing opinion among many is that Durant chose the Warriors over all other teams because he had a better chance at winning a title with Golden State.
Yeah. Duh.
Because isn’t that why these athletes play their chosen sport? To win titles? Aside from making money – a lot of money – what is the main motivation for most of the athletes playing professional sports today?
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It’s winning championships. It’s building a legacy. It’s why guys like Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Isaiah Thomas, Michael Jordan, and Kobe Bryant – among many, many others – did what they did. It’s why they played the way they played.
It’s why the competed as hard as they could – they wanted to win titles and etch their names in league history. They wanted to build and secure a legacy for themselves. They wanted to be known as champions.
Which is why the criticism of Durant is so mind-numbingly stupid. From Stephen A. Smith to Charles Barkley to Reggie Miller – their words and criticism is just plain stupid.
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Miller recently went on a tirade about Durant’s move to Golden State and in making his case, stumbled all over the ridiculous things falling out of his mouth. Said Miller:
"“Durant would have been a god if he stayed in Oklahoma City. People always say to me, ‘I’m so glad you stayed with us’ —that I stayed for 18 years with a small-market (Pacers) team in Indiana.That’s what Durant gave up by leaving the Thunder. And that matters. Had he stayed in Oklahoma City, people would have said, “He spurned all the other offers and continued to fight the giant.”Even if Durant didn’t win a championship like me, John Stockton or players who briefly spent time elsewhere like Ewing, Karl Malone, etc. the rest of the world would have looked at him in a different light because he fought, rather than joined, the giants—LeBron, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Chris Paul, etc. And to me, that’s a true legacy.”"
Would Durant have been a god had he stayed in Oklahoma City? Maybe. And maybe for somebody like Miller, being viewed as a “god” in the state of Indiana is enough.
But what is his legacy? How does history view him?
He’s a talented player. Incredible shooter. Scored a lot of points – his 25,279 points scored ranks him nineteenth on the all time list. Miller was a terrific player capable of hitting clutch shots at big times, there is no question.
But he’s also not a champion. The legacy he leaves behind is one of the NBA’s all time greatest scorers – but one who never won a title. And maybe for Miller, that’s enough. Maybe he’s satisfied with all of the personal accomplishments and accolades. And that’s okay.
But it’s also okay for Durant to aspire to more. To aspire to greater. It’s okay for Durant to pursue the ultimate goal of just about every athlete on this planet – to win championships.
To lambaste Durant for making the decision he made is as ignorant as it is selfish. He’s nine years into his career now – closer to the end of it than the beginning. How many more years does he reasonably have to win a championship?
And if the Thunder really had hit a plateau – as he believed they had – and their championship window had narrowed, if not closed, what was he supposed to do? Should he have continued forgoing his chance at a ring just to stay with a small market team for the sake of optics? Just so he could be considered a “god” in Oklahoma City?
Reggie Miller was a great player. But he’s always going to be remembered as a great player who never won a ring. But hey, he did spend his entire career with one team, so he’s got that going for him.
The truly transcendent players seek greatness. They chase it. They are always looking to build upon the legacy they’ll leave behind when they’re gone from the game. And the only way to leave a legacy behind – one that people truly remember and continue talking about years and years later – is to win championships.
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Golden State offered Durant a chance to build the legacy – the championship legacy – he wants to leave behind when his playing days are done. It offered him an opportunity to play alongside some great players and create something special.
Who would pass up an opportunity like that? And more importantly, why should Durant have? For him, this is all about championships. This is all about his legacy. Nothing more and nothing less.