After winning NBA championship, Kevin Durant responds to haters saying he 'ruined NBA'
Remember when Kevin Durant used to be known as the nicest, most humble player in the NBA?
Recall, for instance, his epic MVP speech in 2014, where he thanked each and every player on the Thunder.
Of course, that all changed when KD jumped ship and signed with Golden State two summers ago.
Suddenly, Mr. Good Guy became the centerpiece of what’s wrong with the league, and the Warriors went from the most beloved to the most hated team in the game.
Durant did his part on the court, winning back-to-back Finals MVP awards en route to consecutive NBA championships.
Still, it seems that instead of basking in the glory, KD can’t help himself.
After an impressive Golden State sweep, Durant was asked by Yahoo Sports whether signings like his are ruining the game.
“My responsibility is to my skills. My responsibility is to myself,” he said. “I’m not worried about the NBA. That’s their job. They make too much money. They ain’t paying me enough to dictate the NBA. I should be making more money if all that’s on me. My responsibility is to whatever team I play for. All that other stuff, that’s on y’all.”
It’s one thing for Durant to defend himself, but another to appear so tone deaf.
Even in sharing his love of everything Golden State, KD made it clear that he’s worried about KD.
“The Bay Area allows me to be who I am, as a city, to just blend in, and the team allows me to do the same thing,” he said. “All I want to do in my life, while I’m healthy, is to work on my game and enjoy the game and not worry about nothing else. This place gives me that. This is the best place for me to just play ball, work on my game, play ball, and not care about (expletive) that normal NBA superstars are supposed to care about.”
There’s no denying that the past two years — and two titles — have vaulted Durant to a new level of NBA superstardom.
Only players to have 4 scoring titles and multiple Finals MVPs:
Michael Jordan
Kevin Durant pic.twitter.com/puRxEWgoqw— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 9, 2018
Yet, even on the podium while receiving his MVP award, Durant’s body language was different.
Kevin Durant wins his second finals MVP😤😤 pic.twitter.com/OEK4UgeGRS
— Seattle Sonics ON Tap (@SonicsONTap) June 9, 2018
But there are still flashes of the old, OKC version of KD.
“It feels good to go through it with these guys,” Durant told Yahoo. “It feels good to come in here and work with the coaching staff, just everybody that we have with this organization just helped me get better as a player, helped us get better as a team. The people that come in and rebound for me when they don’t have to, the video guys who work us out, help us as players. I just appreciate that. That’s all I’ve been thinking about.”
So while critics can be upset that Durant hopped onto the Golden State bandwagon, it’s clear that as the spotlight has grown, so has his game.
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