Another day, another discussion about Kevin Durant's legacy as a basketball player. The two-time NBA champion and two-time Finals MVP did an interview with The Athletic and essentially said that at this stage of his NBA career, it is not about his legacy.
Durant's exact quote was, "I don't care about legacy. I truly just want to go out there and produce, be the best that I could be, go home, hang with my family, that's it." While Durant is without a doubt one of the greatest and most skilled players in NBA history, it is odd to hear him say that he does not care about legacy given all of the moves he has made throughout his career.
Durant began his career with the Seattle Supersonics/Oklahoma City Thunder and established himself as one of the best players in the league very early. He won an MVP, took Oklahoma City to its first and only Finals appearance and gave basketball fans in OKC and around the NBA nightly displays of basketball brilliance. However, everything changed after the 2016 postseason because Durant believed he had maximized his situation in OKC with Russell Westbrook and wanted to play for a different team.
Above all else, Kevin Durant knew he needed to leave Oklahoma City because winning a championship with the Thunder was not something he could accomplish. Having already established himself as an all-time great player, a championship was the last thing that was missing on his resume. When Durant teamed up with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, the Warriors became unstoppable and won back-to-back championships over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Something was off about the dialogue surrounding Durant, however. Basketball fans seemed to focus more on the fact that KD hopped on a bandwagon to win his two championships and it would not have been possible if Stephen Curry was not willing to take a back seat to a superior player. Even though Durant was the best player on those Warriors teams from 2016-2019, Warriors fans still embraced Steph Curry more. The Warriors were two wins in the 2019 finals away from three-peating, but missed Durant heavily as he was out with what turned out to be an achilles injury. Because of the negative dialogue towards Durant, he left the Warriors seeking validation as the leader and best player on a championship team.
Durant signed with the Brooklyn Nets in the summer of 2019 along with Kyrie Irving and eventually, James Harden in 2021. Brooklyn's big three seemed destined to dominate the Eastern Conference and deliver the franchise's first title. A team with no consistent history of winning that featured three superstars and three of the league's best offensive players flamed out due to injuries and personal agendas. The Milwaukee Bucks won the 2021 championship and the following season was a disaster. James Harden was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers midway through and the Nets were swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.
At the beginning of the 2022 season, Kyrie Irving requested a trade and so did Durant. Brooklyn's big three won one playoff series out of three seasons Durant was on the team. In Durant's attempt to establish himself as someone who can be the clear cut leader on a championship team, it resulted in disappointment.
Fast forward to the end of March, Durant just made his home debut with the Phoenix Suns in a win against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Suns have a great opportunity to make the NBA Finals this season. The questions will be, what will the conversation be like if the Suns win the title? Will Durant get the validation he was looking for? Devin Booker is the longest tenured player on this team and stuck with the franchise despite seasons where the Suns were constantly a lottery team and winning 20 games per season. Who's to say Phoenix fans won't say the same things about Durant that Warriors fans did in terms of who's team it really is?
Kevin Durant's legacy is unquestionable. He's a multiple time champ, Finals MVP and one of the greats. However, he does care about his legacy because he knows at the end of the day, some championships mean more than others and the all-time great players reach that status by being the clear driving force of championship teams.