Golden State Warriors’ Family Vibe Essential to Kevin Durant
The Golden State Warriors officially added another member to their family this afternoon with their introductory press conference for perennial All-Star Kevin Durant.
As expected, there were plenty of smiles and cheers going around the room, as one of the NBA’s most polarizing stars was introduced to his new hometown audience. Kevin Durant was moments away from being the central figure in one of the most anticipated press conferences in NBA history.
The wait was almost over. What will he say? How would Durant respond to all the criticism and growing hate, stemming from his decision to leave everything that he has grown to love about Oklahoma City, and venture out west to Northern California, to play for the 2015 NBA Champions-Golden State Warriors?
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As Durant took his seat in between a very happy Warriors’ general manager Bob Myers and head coach Steve Kerr, a sense of relief and happiness could be seen on Durant’s face. That look of “I’m excited to start this new chapter of my life” seem to glow brighter after every word.
This press conference was not only used to give Durant a big introduction to the Bay Area. It was an opportunity for him to tell “his truth.” Not the truth some loud, angry media personality might rant about to get some attention. But the truth that only him and his family are privy to.
Durant spoke of the comic book world we live in today where your either take on the villain role, or you’re viewed as a super-hero. He acknowledged the decision to take off that Oklahoma City Thunder jersey for the last time, and replace it with the gold and blue of Golden State, was one of the most difficult decisions he’s made in his young life.
The brotherhood, which Durant saw firsthand as the Warriors were trying to persuade and “Whoo” him away from the Thunder, apparently played a huge role in him making this unexpected move.
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The four-time NBA scoring champion spoke of how the bond between Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala, seemed very real, and very strong. He even joked about how it seemed they were “holding hands” when they entered their meeting in the Hamptons.
The fact these four star players made him a priority and flew across the country, when they surely had previous commitments and plans, seemed to, in a way, shock Durant. He got the media crowd chuckling when he spoke of how he didn’t even know that Thompson had a phone before he received his welcoming text, and how Klay exceeded the expectations he had of him as a person.
In reality, this highly-anticipated introduction didn’t tell anyone what they didn’t already know or assumed. In a few short years, the Warriors ownership group, headed by Peter Guber and Joe Lacob, has turned a once-struggling franchise with a history of mediocrity, into one of the most attractive and successful organizations in professional sports.
During their short time as an NBA powerhouse and title contender, the Warriors have done a lot of self-image re-tooling. No longer are they looked at as this cute team that may play an entertaining brand of basketball, but who never would be taken seriously as title contenders.
Those old images left behind by the “Run-TMC” days and the one-year wonder that was the “We Believe” movement no longer hangs over this franchise. This is an organization currently driven by star-power and organizational unity.
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That combination of unity and trust was able to persuade one of the biggest sports stars in America. It allowed Durant to take a leap of faith and start a new journey with a new set of family members and friends, which will hopefully produce new memories of “Championship Parades” and center-court celebrations.