Nets Star Kevin Durant Sounds Off: 'OKC has to retire my jersey'
Kevin Durant’s legacy in Oklahoma City is complicated.
He is arguably the greatest player to ever don the Thunder uniform, the defining player of the franchise’s first eight years in OKC, yet few players in NBA history have left such a sour taste in the mouths of fans at departure.
In an interview with The Ringer recently, Durant made a comment that brought back the question of whether or not the Thunder should retire his jersey. And if so, when?
Durant plainly stated, “OKC has to retire my jersey … It wouldn’t even be good for the game of basketball if they didn’t.”
Just before this, he said “I can imagine me when I’m done, and I don’t think any one of these franchises would be like, ‘No, K, what you did here is not a part of our history.’ I’m going to be a Hall of Famer when I’m done, one of the greatest to ever play. If you don’t want me to be a part of your program when I’m done playing, then that’s personal.
The issue for Durant, the Thunder and its fans is, yes, the whole situation is personal.
Durant’s departure from OKC was unlike anything the NBA had previously seen, and unlike anything, it has seen since. Superstar players have the teams they were drafted by via free agency. From Shaquille O’Neal to LeBron James to Chris Bosh this kind of thing isn’t unique. What is, however, is the team Durant was walking away from in the summer of 2016.
(Photo by Ron Jenkins/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/MCT/Sipa USA)
Durant was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics in 2007, winning Rookie of the Year in his one season in the PNW before the team was sold and relocated to OKC.
He spent the next eight years in OKC, picking up an MVP, seven All-Star selections and an NBA Finals appearance along the way. It all built up to the 2016 playoffs. The Thunder had retooled the roster following the trade of James Harden in 2012 and had built a legitimate contender around Durant and Russell Westbrook.
Ahead three games to one in the Western Conference Finals, the Thunder lost three-straight games to the eventual champion Golden State Warriors. Then came arguably the most important off-season in the franchise’s short history — its crown jewel Durant was an unrestricted free agent.
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Thunder fans felt assured the fan-favorite Durant couldn’t possibly leave — especially after how the previous playoffs had ended.
But another team just made a more convincing argument. The problem for the Thunder and particularly its fans was the team that made that offer — the Warriors.
The move left fans dejected. They had been through everything with Durant. The highs of 2012, the lows of those early Thunder years, he had been there for them both on the court and off for events like the tornado that struck Moore in 2013. No matter what fans were going through they had Durant — until they didn’t.
Since then he has gone on to win two championships with Golden State and subsequently switched coasts to team up with fellow All-Star Kyrie Irving.
On the Thunder side there have been some deep playoff runs, Westbrook took home the 2017 MVP in his first season without Durant and Nick Collison became the first player to have his jersey placed in the rafters of the Paycom Center.
Collison was an easy choice to be the first. He was the lovable leader at the end of the bench who had been with the team for 10 years, playing over 600 games. It was a no-doubter. Westbrook will eventually be the second, but the third … that one is harder to pin down.
Durant’s claim that OKC has to retire his jersey is certainly not without merit. It would be unprecedented for a team not to retire the jersey of a sure-fire Hall-of-Famer who spent nearly his entire 20s with that team.
There is a certain segment of the Thunder fanbase, particularly those who are from Oklahoma, who have not forgiven him for his departure. A group that would likely prefer Durant’s name be redacted from every press release and story about him than see his jersey placed next to Collison and Westbrook’s.
When it’s all said and done despite the way things ended, and the complaints from a certain section of the fanbase, it should be a matter of when not if No. 35 is in the rafters.
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