Kevin Durant shocked many basketball fans when he made the decision to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Golden State Warriors in June 2016, as many assumed he would sign a new deal with the franchise he began his career with.
However, Durant ultimately made the decision to come to Golden State, and later cited his desire to play in the Warriors’ free-flowing offense as one of the reasons for his departure.
Durant was recently interviewed by ESPN’s Nick Friedell for a piece about Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, and what Antetokounmpo means for the Bucks’ efforts to expand as a cultural force in the Milwaukee market and beyond.
Durant provided some perspective on why he ultimately left Oklahoma City, as well as the mindset of a small-market NBA superstar like Antetokounmpo who has grown up with a team and is beloved in that team’s city, and has indicated that he wants to stay with the same team his whole career.
“I was at that point,” Durant told ESPN. “I wanted the same things. I felt like that’s what I … what I would say to him, I would tell him to play for himself,” Durant said. “Because he’s the one out there putting in the work, he’s the one out there getting up in the morning staying committed to the game. Obviously [the comments about staying put] sounds good to the fans in Milwaukee and to the ownership, because he cares so much about wanting to please them and play well for them, and I get it. But his career is about him; it’s about whatever he wants to do and however he feels is right for him. And what type of basketball does he want to play? He’s not going to stay in Milwaukee if he’s not having fun playing the game.”
Citing examples from his time in Oklahoma City, Durant then expanded on what he meant about Antetokounmpo focusing on his own wishes and happiness.
“I’m sure he has nothing but love and respect for everybody that helped him out in Milwaukee and all the fans that cheered for him, but his career is not about them. It’s about himself,” Durant said. “And I learned that because I said the same things, I lived the same things. I wanted the same things. But it came from a place where I was just so excited about the love I was getting from everybody else. And when I said that, I wanted people to feel good about themselves, I wanted people to feel good about our team and I wanted my organization to feel like I was there for them, I was loyal to them every single day, because I was. But at the same time, it’s about you. It’s about going out there and being the best player you can be every single day, working hard every single day, enjoying the game. That’s your only job, is to do those things. It’s not to fill people up in the seats or [fill] a new arena — it’s not your job. So I would tell him to live and play his career out for himself.”
Durant’s perspective is interesting, as it details the pressure facing popular NBA superstars on small-market teams to stay with their teams in a show of loyalty to the fans that show them passionate support. He wants Antetokounmpo to make decisions about his career for himself, and not feel pressured into staying with Milwaukee just because he feels like he should or has to. If he wants to, he can, but if he doesn’t or is unhappy with the organization, he can leave as well.
(h/t Chris Barnewall/CBS Sports)