Since Kevin Durant made his decision to join the Golden State Warriors last summer, the sports media world has been inundated with takes expressing everything from contempt -- ESPN's Stephen A. Smith said that Durant's decision to join the Warriors was "the weakest move I've seen from a superstar" -- to disappointment (see Barkley, Charles).
Durant immediately accomplished what he went west to do, however, leading the Warriors to an NBA title and winning Finals MVP along the way. And recently, K.D. addressed all the criticism he faced along the way.
I didn't go there to make my life easier every day. I didn't so I could stop getting up at 8:30 and try to be the first one on the court. I didn't go there to walk into every game and be satisfied if I have 20 points and shoot 30 percent from the field. That's just like, in my DNA, that's just like my blood, that's what wakes me up. I can't stand when somebody discredits the work. Like, I actually did that. I actually put that in. Don't take that away from me.
This is an interesting one because both sides are kind of right.
Durant still put in the same work as always, getting up early as he mentioned, working every day to maintain his standing as one of the best players in the world. He put in the work, he made the plays, he won the title. And he's right, you can't take that away from him.
Yet at the same time there's no denying that joining the Warriors made things easier for him. Just look at how they cruised to the title, winning 15 straight games in the playoffs. While some people definitely went overboard in their criticism of Durant's decision, you just really can't look at all the open jumpers and dunks he got in the NBA Finals and not realize that was easier for him than what he had to do to score every night for the Thunder.
