The Villain…

Kevin Durant is now viewed as a villain by Oklahoma City. Some say, Kevin Durant was the heart of the Oklahoma City Thunder and I would agree these people. Kevin Durant is my favorite player and what he did was a heart-breaker. In the words of Stephen A. Smith, “It was one of the weakest decisions ever made by an All-Star.” Smith couldn’t have said it better.

Kevin Durant played just one season at the University of Texas before he was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 2007 NBA draft. After his rookie year, the SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder. It didn’t take much time for Durant to prove he’s was going to be a great asset for OKC. Throughout his career, Kevin Durant has won an NBA Most Valuable Player Award, four NBA scoring titles (three of these were consecutive), the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, and two Olympic Gold medals. He has also been selected to six All-NBA teams and seven All-Star teams. Kevin Durant was OKC’s number one player. He led the Thunder to the 2012 NBA Finals, but they came short, losing the Miami Heat in five games.

Durant built a great friendship with Russell Westbrook who was drafted after his rookie season. These two became an All-Star duo for the Thunder. They are the one the best backcourt duos in the league. These two All-Stars, with Kevin Durant leading, led the Thunder to deep playoff runs time and time again. However, they could never win a championship and still haven’t to this day. It is very frustrating for fans. During the last season, Kevin Durant was coming off an injury and the league was eager to see if he could play at the performance he usually does. If there is anything I’ve learned watching Kevin Durant over the years, it’s that he does not disappoint. When he stepped on the court, he didn’t. Kevin Durant was a big force as always. Along with Westbrook, Durant led the Thunder to a 3-1 lead against the “unbeatable” Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals. Only having to win ONE MORE GAME, the Thunder completely blew a 3-1 lead, allowing the Warriors to win 3 straight games and advance the 2016 NBA Finals.

Unknown to OKC fans, Durant was about to break all of our hearts. His contract was up and he was now a free agent. Many thought that he wanted to leave since they had trouble getting to the Finals. However, no one dared to think he would leave to guess who…. the Golden State Warriors. He left to the Golden State Warriors because he wanted an easy way to the championship. I thought so much higher of him. I never thought he would make such a weak decision like this. He could’ve stayed and worked hard with Westbrook and made it the Finals, but he didn’t. There’s nothing we can do now. This decision hurt Westbrook as well and the two haven’t talked since Durant left. Russell Westbrook said Kevin Durant didn’t even tell him he was leaving. In Westbrook’s words, “I found out like y’all did. Through the news.” This is the decision that has made Kevin Durant a villain not only to us OKC fans, but to the entire league as well. He’s a villain to everyone because the Warriors were already an amazing team and he is now forming a super-team by joining them. Kevin Durant cut us deep. Real deep.