Kevin Durant Doubts He’ll Finish Career in Spain Despite 2019 Statement

The forward once said he wanted to play for F.C. Barcelona.

In 2019, Nets forward Kevin Durant went on Serge Ibaka’s How Hungry Are You? show and proclaimed that he would like to play in Europe before his career is over. Specifically, he said he wanted to play for F.C. Barcelona.

“I really want to play overseas my last season,” Durant said at the time, via Nets Daily. “At Barcelona. I would, one of these days. That’s the second-best league in the world. EuroLeague games look fun. I don’t know for a fact if I’ll do it, it’s just me sitting on a couch, dreaming but it would be cool to experience it.”

Well, on Friday, Durant was asked about whether he still kept that same desire, and the veteran forward walked it back a bit.

“I had just won a championship, I was playing great, I guess that has you thinking about the end a little bit a little bit too much,” Durant said. “I’ve got a lot of respect for the EuroLeague…but I really doubt that happens.”

Kevin Durant to @Canyameridis71 on if he still wants to retire by playing his career out in Barcelona as he once told Serge Ibaka in 2019:

“I was thinking about the end a little bit. I’d said something crazy. I love watching the EuroLeague… but I really doubt that happens.” pic.twitter.com/TJXEBeCovG

— Adam Laskaris (@adam_la2karis) December 17, 2022

At 34 years-old, Durant is still playing at an extremely high level and presumably has several more years left in his prime to try and lead another team to an NBA title. After winning twice with Golden State, it has been tough for Durant to repeat that success in Brooklyn, and he most likely will want to lead the Nets to a championship before retiring.