The Fractured Legacy Of Kevin Durant

well I'm viewing it as the weakest move I've ever seen from a superstar don't walk around talk about you're a champion but they ask him to do it again and he didn't they ask him to do it again and he couldn't stop talking about KD like he this legendary demon we just don't talk about Kevin Durant in the same life it's not because of basketball it's because of his decisions theom City and they come back from a three games to one deficit the warning of Stewart by becoming only the 10 out of 233 to win a best of seven series while trailing three games to one Kevin Durant in the Oklahoma City Thunder failed to get back to the finals after being up 3-1 against the then defending Champions the Golden State Warriors this marking the fourth time he was unable to make it back to the n finals since 2012 he was entering free agency in the summer of 2016 and he met with multiple teams during that time many speculated on where he would end up and many assume he would re up with the Thunder and run it back for another chance of getting a title but on the 4th of July KD would announce to the world where he decided to sign breaking news happen it's here and it's golden state for Kevin Durant well I'm viewing it as the weakest move I've ever seen from a superstar wow a 73 and9 they knocked you out in and then you went and joined him lost respect for him it's going to change forever the way we look at him Kevin Durant had a great team he was up 31 as I told you before the season began that damn Kevin Durant ruined my season at this moment he would sign a deal that would forever impact his legacy from this point forward he finally had enough with wanting to be second place and he took matters into his own hands and he fully embraced being the villain and he felt that it was the right decision but in the end what was once viewed as the most liked player turning the most hated player in the NBA the Golden State Warriors had now the greatest team ever assembled and everyone clearly knew what was going to happen for the next four seasons it was already pre-written and everyone just had to Stand By and Watch if the warriors were healthy Katie was going to be crowned a champion and when it came time for that Durant did just that good veterans on their bench pass all the way across and Durant throws it down that is goes back up block from behind by Durant it's an offensive now back to Durant knocks down the three Durant makes it look so easy in the middle of the floor Durant for three that's good and a foul chance for a four-point play incredible opportunity Durant for three it's good Kevin Durant from downtown Durant fires a three knocks it down Kevin Durant huge height Advantage no problem for Kevin Durant sh clock at five Kevin Durant way outside delivers Kevin Durant from downtown it's a six-point game there it is Redemption for Golden State the Warriors are NBA champions again he's been a perennial Allstar he's been in the league MVP and this year the back-to- back NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant today KD is the best basketball player on the face of the planet I thought he was Vindicated and validated is that the best player in the game right now yes it is there is nothing offensively that he can't do Kevin Durant dominated in the NBA finals in both years beating LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers twice and he was crowned with two championships and rewarded as the finest MVP in both series he was viewed as the best player in the world and no one could touch him at this point so it only seemed fitting that he would stay with Golden State for the rest of his career and win more championships or so he thought what do you know here's what happened once the play fell apart obviously they go into overtime they go towards the bench and Kevin Durant was like I was asking for the ball why didn't you give me the ball etc etc Draymond Green just went off process of Draymond Green going off he brought up Kevin Durant's contract Draymond Green said to Kevin Durant essentially you got one foot in one foot out 2019 was a year where Kevin Durant faced something that he did not expect Draymond Green a teammate who he considered a friend called him out and said the Warriors did not need him and they can win without him this all stemmed from the fact that Kevin R was entering free agency and nobody knew where he was going to sign and Draymond definitely felt that Kevin Durant was thinking about leaving a jumping ship but after this interaction between Draymond and KD there was no going back the season would go on and the Warriors would dominate as per usual and managed to make it to the NBA finals for the fifth straight year but Kevin Durant experienced an injury that would Seline him seemingly for the rest of the playoffs during in the Houston Rocket series and during the NBA Finals the Warriors without KD would struggle as they would go down 3-1 as they were experiencing injuries and Stephen Curry was just out there playing by himself for some of these games and with them being desperate they would rush Kevin Durant back onto the floor in game five but the Warriors would look like a team that they were before Kevin got hurt and then that is when it happened vaka trying to stay with Durant knocks it away and Durant slip it and Durant grabbing that right leg the Warriors lost the finals and Durant TS Achilles and his career potentially was at risk now but now he had a decision to make on whether or not he would remain a warrior or will he decide to join a new team and on July 7th 2019 we got his answer Adrien rinowski reporting that Kevin Durant is in fact headed to Brooklyn speak to that at all the relationship you had with Draymond Green did that play a role in you leaving Golden State a little bit yeah for sure he went there thinking maybe Draymond will become my best friend and they had a terrible falling out the guy under the most pressure is Kevin Durant you have to win Durant signing with the Nets alongside Kyrie would mean a new era for basketball this is a young team with amazing talent and while Kevin Durant did miss the 2020 season due to his injury we would get his long awaited return during the 2020 2021 season KD would come back and play even better than he did before he got injured and him playing at a high level after tearing his Achilles was definitely exciting and something that we were all glad to see the Nets looked like a team that would give KD a chance to redeem himself and maybe win a championship and prove that he can be the leader of his own team and not have a super team assembled how wrong we were the Nets now assembled three of the best scorers in the NBA and it seemed we had another super team on our hands but Durant was getting criticized once again for having it another stacked roster after it appeared like he was trying to further himself away from that narrative but to KD he didn't care about anything else but winning more champion ships the Nets during that season would show their level of dominance even though Kyrie Harden and KD weren't playing together as much they were still one of the best teams in the NBA and in the Eastern Conference they would head into the NBA playoffs with one goal in mind to win they were matched up against the Boston Celtics without Jaylen Brown and Jason tinon was the only one putting up a fight against the three-headed dragon the Nets were too dominant and would easily dispose the Celtics in five games the Nets in the second round however had a tougher matchup as they were put up against the Milwaukee Bucks who had the best player in the league Yannis and the kmo and he was having a dominant season for his team but the Nets would actually go up 20 in this series and would win in a convincing way after a game two blowouts the only issue however was James Harden would suffer a hamstring injury then it would only get worse as Kevin rant would lose yet another teammate as Kyrie would suffer an ankle spray in game four that would Seline him for the remainder of the playoffs so Kevin Durant was now on his own and he was flying solo and the Nets definitely needed k to show up in the playoffs and in game five with a potential to go up 3-2 in the series Durant would pull off one of the greatest playoff games in NBA history quarter Durant with the pull up yes 11 of the last 14 points for the walking friendly Rim so much better on the offensive end beautiful pass by Harden and Durant LS it home and the warm-ups prior to the warm-ups Harden said he felt ready to play here's Durant on the drive going all the way here Crow is back on the floor for the extra r with that feathery touch has not forced anything that was right from the start Durant for three using the screen for three yes just so impressive bar and the r on Q hits again the crush the defense by the walking out the rant Fir and hits with the shot clock running down he hits down so net bounc back from due to Katie's heroics he would have the greatest game of his life and lead the Nets to a 3-2 lead and had the opportunity to go to the Eastern Conference Finals however the Bucks would defend home cord in game six and they would force a game seven and this game was a dog fight throughout the Nets as a whole were really struggling to find guys to show up and support KD they would get James Harden back but he was not playing the same and in the fourth quarter down the stretch the Bucks would respond and have a lead that looked to be a wrap but the Nets would hold down the fort and battle back and with the game in the balance with the city of Brooklyn on his shoulders KD had to respond the there is the rant moving on Tucker he turns he shoots yes with 1 second remaining what seemed to be a three-pointer that won them the game would end up sending them to a 5minute sudden death because Kevin Durant's foot was unfortunately on the line but Kevin Durant definitely was determined to get them to the easn Crawford finals he just had to show up in overtime gotted by holiday Durant for three comes up with an air ball har just flips it over to Jeff GRE now that does it the Bucks with the 115 111 victory over the Brooklyn Mets be a level of blame that you would assess to the greatest player on the planet currently is what Kevin Durant deserves well Kevin Durant in overtime was 0 for six and he airball the last shot everybody was quick to jump on the bandwagon Kevin dur is the best player on the planet on Tuesday because he had a historic performance and there's no denying that but they asked him to do it again and he didn't they asked him to do it again and he could with all that he could give he had an amazing game and he did his best but it was not enough and while he had one of the greatest stretches of games no one really cared as he did not score in overtime and that definitely was not a good look for him and in the 2022 season it really went down hill for the Nets especially for KD Kyrie Irving was someone who would always be reliable when you needed him but then the vaccine became something that every player needed to take and Kyrie refused the Nets would play without Kyrie for a period of time and harda would grow tired with the Nets as he was not willing to be in a situation where he was not winning a title and having teammates not show up and be there for the team as he would request a trade that would send him to the Philadelphia 76ers the Nets would get Kyrie back for the season but he would be out for a certain amount of games due to co protocol and the Nets would struggle for some time and he would have to compete for the seventh seed as the Nets were in Play In Contention but luckily for them they would beat the Cleveland Cavaliers to make it to the playoffs that's a seventh seed and they would match up in a rematch against the Boston Celtics who had Jaylen Brown this time and they were a better team game one would be a very entertaining one as Kyrie Irving was having an amazing game and Durant was being met with great defense and was nowhere to be found this game would go down to the wire and the final seconds were very thrilling Jason Tatum would ice the game for the Celtics to go up 10 in the series and even though that there was a heartbreaking loss for the Nets they definitely had a chance to bounce back but that was not something that we ended up seeing a 40 sweep is something that KD has never experienced in his career and it was something that he had to get used to because that was one of the most underwhelming series of his career one of the first times in his career where he looked human the Celtics played amazing defense and shut him down completely while he would get eliminated from the playoffs and have the entire NBA criticize him things would only get worse for him the emotions just pouring out it might be his fourth but it means so much the Golden State Warriors return to a familiar place they're on top of the NBA world the 2022 Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP award goes to Stephen Curry Kevin Durant today is viewed as the guy who left a championship Squad to try to do it on his own in Brooklyn Kevin Durant needed Golden State Golden State as much as the Warriors needed him can you imagine the conversations we're having Kevin Durant doesn't go to Golden State can you imagine the conversations we're going to be having man's 15 years into the league with no championships we have a very different discussion because he spent three years in Golden State the same team that swept him in the playoffs now lost to Stephen Curry in the Golden State Warriors as he was able to win his fourth championship and proving everything that what Draymond said was more true the Warriors definitely benefited from Kevin Durant winning more championships but the Warriors they were able to win with and without him and Durant was just viewed as some who formed a super team won two rings and then left and was never able to find success afterwards Durant at this point had to win and he desperately needed to win for his career and he would go on to request a trade from the Brooklyn Nets and there was only one team that was on Durant's mind he was now on another roster that was on paper stacked you had Kevin Durant Chris Paul Devin Booker and DeAndre aen so was this team enough to win a championship or was it all going to crash and burn in a terrible way he would want to have a great season with the Suns and they would end the season with a 45 and 37 record and would head into the playoffs facing the LA Clippers and we would get a series of Kevin Durant versus Russell Westbrook who used to be teammates brothers friends but since his departure they were now Rivals the Clippers would still game one in their building after Kawai had an amazing game and Russell Westbrook was giving solid plays down the stretch with a game saving play in the fourth quarter but Durant would torch the clippers for the rest of the series in a gentleman sweep and and their next opponent would be the Denver Nuggets who last time got swept by the Suns in 2021 but everyone expected the Suns to destroy this team especially since they got Kevin Duran on their squad but throughout this series while he did manage to put up good numbers he was once again brought down a level by the nuggets in their defense the Suns would lose in a blowout in game six and that would be Durant's third time failing to make the NBA Finals since his departure from Golden State and the narratives of him riding the coiles of Stephen Curry and the Warriors got loud louder and louder I try to tell y'all all these bus riders they don't mean nothing to me if you ain't driving the bus don't walk around talking about you're a champion if you riding the bus I don't want to hear it but he was driving you don't think he was the bus driver in in golden state no I do not you think he was the best player on that team no I do not wow but the Suns would give a lastage attempt as they would trade DeAndre Aon and Chris Paul away as they were no longer players they needed and they would get Bradley Beal who was a 30 points per game scorer in Washington and would be an addition to a now three-headed monster would this be another super team being formed or was it just going to be another disappointment some of those questions would get answered but it wasn't the good ones Bradley be and Devon Booker would be in and out of the lineups du the injury and Kevin Durant was just out there flying solo and the big three as a whole didn't get a chance to play that many games together Durant would be the only saving grace as he was clearly the best player on the team and did everything he could to keep the Suns afloat and try to push for for a championship but it was very clear that this roster did not have the pieces it was all offense and not a lot of Defense where did we see this before this team traded away all of their depth to make this team somewhat of a stacked roster but those days were over and new ones were beginning and the Suns would make the playoffs and avoid the playin and this was an important series for KD as this was maybe one of his last opportunities where he had a chance to prove himself and save his legacy but unfortunately this series ended up being a massacre you know they got KD but we got Jaden McDaniels in the mid-range Anthony Edwards off glass likes going to his left spins right oh man he was in his bag I'm so impressed my my favorite player to watch We're witnessing a changeing of the guard in the NBA I told y'all yesterday I want to kill everything in front of me so so um you know I love that guy man and I'm excited to play with him this Summer man talk a little trash and let him know I sent him home I think that when you at Kevin Durant he's one of the greatest players in the world and we barely talk about him in a positive standpoint and the bottom line is Shannon it's not because of basketball it's because of his decision if he doesn't win another title this is what they're going to remember you leave OKC to go to Golden State you leave Golden State to go to Brooklyn you leave Brooklyn to go to Phoenix what what what's the what's the next move this would be the coming out party for Anthony Edwards the tide was clearly turning as this series for KD was not the greatest it was very clear to everyone watching that we were seeing the end of an era the torch was being passed to the new generation as it once was for himself when he faced off against one of the greatest players to ever play the game the Suns would lose in four games making this the second time in two years where he was swept in the playoffs and I think it was safe to say that Durant's window was now closing Kevin Durant will go down as one of the best players to ever play this game he is one of the greatest scorers to ever touch a basketball he is a consensus top 15 player of all time he has had many moments that have proven that he will be remembered forever but how will his legacy be remembered when we look back at all the all-time greats like LeBron Kobe Steph Durk and Giannis they all had moments where they had meltdowns and had failures there were narratives being told about their legacies and while they were unfair they were valid criticisms and in the biggest stages of their careers they found the will to win on their own terms and each of them had their defining moment and when they won it made it so much better for their careers and that's what made them from NBA alltime greats to NBA legends but for KD he has had amazing moments on the biggest stage in the NBA Finals but he has never had his defining moment for his career his legacy will be viewed differently to many as someone who joined the greatest regular season team of all time after losing to them in a winnable series a player who won titles but they never were viewed as real championships someone who left the team that was able to win before and after his departure and a player who failed to win without a super team after he left Golden State so while Kevin Durant is a two-time NBA champion and two-time final MVP while he has all the accolades all the moments all the glory he paid the ultimate price that would leave his legacy when it is all said and done fractured [Music]

Channel: The NBA Nerd

Views: 59,801

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Id: ZoY-yHh6NkE

Length: 20min 10sec (1210 seconds)

Published: Wed May 01 2024