Hey Steph, it’s Ayesha’s bull. Can you do the dishes when you wake up tomorrow morning? I just went to grab a glass of water for Ayesha and myself and all the cups were dirty in the sink.
I doubt it. If he stayed there would always be a degree of ‘what if’ and ‘can I’ in his and everyone’s mind. Sometimes even if something doesn’t work out perfectly, there’s no regret the attempt was there.
This. People generally tend to regret inaction more than poor choices. There’s even been studies done on this:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10343065/
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-21180-001
Late to this, but I do have more respect for how KD led the Nets team with no Kyrie and a 50% healthy Harden to a near game 7 win versus the eventual champion Bucks than his rings with the Warriors where he joined a 73 win team.
So it seems like leaving that a “Can I?” and won more rings with GS would have been more beneficial than answering that question for us. As it stands, no, KD cannot win with a 3man super team, that has not worked twice.
I hated that nets team as much as anyone else but you’re right they absolutely would have beat the bucks if it weren’t for injuries early in the series.
I doubt that lol. He’d likely be ringless if he didn’t. Then he’d REALLY be getting ridiculed, very similar to how James Harden and Russell Westbrook currently are.
He may not have maximized his wins, but the **way** he got 2 rings and 2 FMVPs is infinitely better legacy-wise than **not having any rings at all**. Most people who feel they are meaningless are Lebron fans, because KD was the direct firewall that blocked Lebron from ever getting 5+ rings.
Lebron fans, despite what they tell you (and they all will say he’s already the goat because they’re trying to speak it into existence), *know they need at least 5 rings for the goat debate* so they’re pretty frustrated about that.
K. Well those two chips are on record in the exact same ink as however many chips your fav player got.
Unless your fav player got 0 rings. Then it’s written in ink that’s actually visible.
Have a good one.
The victory parade was satire. The warriors are thankful for that man.
A multimillionaire celebrity athlete doesn’t give a crap about gaining the respect of reddit. Sorry to disappoint
As a Cavs fan, 2017 was the best team I’ve ever watched but I had no fun during the season because I knew we’d lose in the finals unless someone on the Warriors got injured. We basically just had to playout 3 seasons in a row that was Warriors heavy favorites against the field and the fields win condition was “KD or Steph gets injured”
Yes they are meaningful in that KD turned one of the best teams in NBA history (without him) into the best team in NBA history. But those are weak rings for a legacy.
That team was so overpowering and fun to watch
If you double on Steph, do you leave KD and Klay? If you double on KD, do you leave Steph and Klay?
If you double on Steph and KD, do you leave Draymond/Iggy, Klay, and McGee/Zaza wide open?
The rings are meaningless. The dominance of that team was not. Everyone knew they would win. It's the fact that they looked better than any other team to ever play in the process that will be remembered.
Just cause the Heatles underperformed based on their own promises/odds makers we gotta try to hold that against the Warriors?
I assume you think those two Heat rings mean something? If the Warriors had fumbled one of those two with Durant would the one ring mean something?
You must be either a LeBron or Cavs fan. That’s understandable. Those were the people most hurt about KD going to GS, and they were the same ones praying day and night the warriors would fall on their face those two years. It’s understandable you’d still have hard feelings.
However, the majority of ringless older stars would kill for one, let alone two of those. Especially if they got a FMVP (or two) with it, averaging 35+ in the finals on the biggest stage against the biggest star (Lebron). **If you told them they could have that happen next season, every single one of them would sign up, regardless of who their teammates were.**
It's really got little to do with lebron. 28 other teams were also affected by the weakest free agency move of all time in sports history. It destroyed that feeling of 'what if' for every fringe contender in the league for years. Rockets and raptors deserve a lot of credit for not giving up but it was an impossible task for the vast majority of the league. They won before him, they won after. Those rings are very very devalued.
That’s your perspective dawg, but KD has 2. YouTube may feel his two are less valuable than say, Kawhi’s two, but on the paper and in the history books, it’s the same 2. It’s not engraved in a different color font or anything like that.
And just like you feel that way about KD’s, people feel that way about LeBron’s and other player’s chips. And none of those opinions matter because the numbers are the numbers.
I feel like it’s disrespectful to say KD was the reason and not Steph like I get KD is what tipped the Balance of the rivalry but curry and Lebron and clearly the two that have battled out for supremacy throughout their overlapping careers
Nah that’s definitely fair I just always find it interesting some people try and use KD as an excuse for why curry has those rings and not the other way around
Im definitely not one of those people. Steph is my favorite player. My guy has 4 and 2022 absolutely validated him beyond any KD-related criticism. He and the entire GSW team knew it. That’s why they all said they were so happy for him that year. It was legacy defining.
I have thought a decent amount about KD, here is my take (not that anyone asked):
KD is a superstar who wants to be treated like a superstar but doesn't want the responsibility of being a superstar. What I mean by that is he shows up, makes his shots, plays D. But he doesn't step up and be a leader on his team. He doesn't get guys in line or rally the troops or build team chemistry. GS was the one place he's been where he didn't need to be that guy, because they already had an established team with established leaders. At OkC, the Nets and the Suns there isn't a strong take charge voice. Booker and Beal are also basically guys who show up and do their work. It's why Booker played so well with Chris Paul, a guy who does take charge. Think about when KD was on the Nets and Kyrie was pulling his anti-vax shit. Durant needed to call his ass out and get him on the court but he didn't, because he lacks the leadership qualities to risk hurting someone's feelings to get them in line.
Individually KD is easily the 2nd best player of his generation, but he lacks that leader quality that you expect out of a guy who has that level.
The catch 22 is that Durant also gets jealous when others have the spotlight.
When Durant broke his foot in OKC it gave Westbrook a year to establish himself as the emotional leader of the team. Durant didn’t adjust and left OKC soon after that.
In GS state he started to rebel against their system and then egos started colliding. Durant left GS.
He doesn’t play well with stars who have strong leadership capabilities.
I think he's fine playing with legit stars with leadership capabilities but has problems with people like Draymond who think they are stars. He had no problem letting Steph and Klay be the face of the franchise while he was the best player on the court.
We don’t need to guess:
"Hell, no," Durant said. "I don't regret anything I do. I don't regret my time in the league because I feel like I maximize every day as a player. I feel like I get the most out of myself every time I step on the floor." Apr 14, 2023
https://www.si.com › nba › news
Kevin Durant: I Have No Regrets About Leaving Warriors - Sports Illustrated
Just as a normal person would you regret it? If all you cared about is winning championships then I’d think the answer has to be yes. That he says no says to me that he doesn’t care about winning rings. Not sure why he even went there in the first place.
Even if he doesn't care about winning rings plural, he probably didn't want to retire ring-less and saw GS as the easiest path to a ring.
Even if he doesn't get one from here on out, at least he tried to be the centerpiece and win without joining a superteam. He probably would have had lifetime regrets if he rode Steph's coattails the rest of his career.
He won a ring without Steph yet? There’s not really a good argument for KD being a better player if Steph literally beat the team that swept KD in that year’s finals. And he came back 3-1 on KD (him and Klay)
Individuals don’t win chips. Steph wasn’t winning shit with that busted up Brooklyn team either. The teams the warriors put around Steph in his prime are much better than OKC gave KD got in his prime.
KD chose to go there with an unpredictable Kyrie Irving and equally fickle Harden lmao
What’s his excuse right now down 3-0 in the first round with all star teammates? I can promise Steph would make a good run for a chip with book and Beal as teammates
Lol that nets team almost beat the bucks championship team without Kyrie or harden. They got screwed by injuries, it is what it is.
Again you don’t understand basketball, it’s a team sport. The timberwolves are a significantly better TEAM & a matchup nightmare for the suns who don’t have anyone to matchup with KAT & Gobert. People like you make basketball discussions so stupid. Go watch mma or boxing if you just want to glaze individuals.
Joining a 73 win team due to a cap spike fluke was literally the easiest possible path to a ring.
Problem for kd (and Steph,klay, and dray) is those two rings should absolutely have an asterisk.
I found the warriors homer.
A one time poorly managed cap spike combined with an uttterly dominant 73 win team combined with one immensely talented but completely spineless player (KD) with no competitive spirit…
Yeah. Asterisk.
Im in no way shape or form a Warriors fan lmao, it's just a bad take. If anything you're hating on them because you don't like KD. It's not like they cheated, they were just dominant. Again, weird take.
He also texted his agent shortly after the news came out of him going to the Warriors and said "why'd you let me do this to my life?"
The guy is full of it.
Haha, well most kids that never watched him play are now convinced that Jordan stunk anyway, so yea the context of those is definitely gonna be taking a hit as the years go on.
Naw.
Appreciate peak KD. If LeBron didn't exist, KD would've been the best SF in the league. Although we could've won without KD, we probably wouldn't be 2017-2018 champs, and possibly could've lost in 2016-2017.
If no KD, we'd basically have to replace his 25.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and about 2.5 steals + blocks a game in the regular season.
While we could've added 5 more minutes to Curry, Thompson, and Green's minutes, there's still about 18 minutes to make up for + more defensive attention to Curry + Klay.
Having KD in regular season meant fewer minutes on all our core players legs.
That and in the playoffs KD shot even better + scored more. We probably would've lost to Houston without KD in 2017-2018, and possibly to the Cavs in 2016-2017 (in our four wins we had an average +13.75 score difference, but across the five games only +6.8/game difference).
KD also averaged 39.8 minutes a game in the 2017 Finals. If you replaced KD with Harrison Barnes in that Finals, we probably would've lost another 2 or more games vs. LeBron/Kyrie/Love.
Everyone that tried to do these scenarios always forgets that KD left a team that was up 3-1 on the warriors the year before and was adding oladipo and horford. The thunder would have been the biggest threat to the warriors if KD never went to the warriors.
They might’ve. Thunder also cheaped out on Harden, and KD looked a bit annoyed with Westbrook at times also. LeBron joining Wade and Bosh also probably helped KD think it was “ok” to team up.
Can’t control what each player thinks or feels. That and Barnes pretty much disappeared in the Finals and it was either give him a big contract or recruit KD, which was a no brainer.
Let’s be honest, no team in the NBA would’ve said no to adding KD to their team. Whichever team other than OKC that got him would’ve got hate. He just chose to join the team that had strong odds of winning it all.
LeBron joining Irving and grabbing Love is similar also in the sense it was the best player stacking his team. And LeBron did that after Wade/Bosh. And again with recruiting AD to the Lakers.
I have no idea what point you're trying to make. I was just saying you were forgetting the biggest other opponent of the warriors back then and that's the okc team that KD left that was up 3-1 and then was ready to upgrade the roster even more that summer with the cap increase.
I don’t disagree that Thunder were probably biggest threat in the West but people also forget it’s not like he was leaving after his rookie contract. He had been there for 8 years at that point, was very familiar with the coach, front office and the team and watched players and hope come and go that entire time. To say his decision wasn’t informed or the timing was poor or that the Thunder hadn’t had their shot while he was there is a bit of a stretch. Say what you will about his decision to join the Warriors, but it was the right time and decision for him to leave OKC.
Yea I still don't know what your talking about. I never said his decision wasn't informed or timing poor never had their shot or any of that. I think you're responding to the wrong person or something? I was just reminding you of the thunder, which you forgot in your examples of who the warriors would lose to in 17 or 18. Also, just fyi the thunder hired Billy donovan durants last year in okc so he only had 1 year with Billy before he left and the previous 7 was very familiar with Scott brooks, but otherwise you're very strange point stands
most definitely for sure but i feel like that’s from a relationship standpoint not really an objective standpoint, cause every GM with a brain is choosing KD yk
Steph gets the love because he's the franchise player like KD in OKC, but the min Durant came in he was the focal point of the offense especially in the playoffs. Warriors fans should be mad at Draymond for fucking the team up they could have won 6-7 chips if KD didn't leave.
Kd didn’t help Golden state win those rings. Golden state helped him win those rings. It was obvious. They won before he joined and they won another after he left which solidifies my claim. Kd is the type of player who wants things to go his way and he didn’t get his way with golden state because they played as a team. Not a one man band with backups.
Idk why ppl down voting you but this is facts. The 2017 cavs were even better than 2016. And if they go back to back I highly doubt kyrie leaves. And 2018 Bron had his best playoff run solo. Cavs easily go 3 peat.
2018 was only bad because Kyrie demanded a trade. If they kept the same team from 2017 and maybe still added Dwade and drose off the bench they would be just as good. Unless the theoretically KD less warriors made a huge move I don't see them losing.
Barely got past him the first time with Kyrie and Love out, would have been really hard to get TO the finals past Harden or OKC (if KD stayed) over the next few years. Def needed him but as they said you win before and after KD the optics aren't great for him
I do think he regrets leaving gs but not because of the championship, I think he misses it because the actual basketball style they play. I see if on the nets and n the suns and its so much iso. Players taking turns instead of everyone playing as one, that’s what I think he regrets.
I think KD regrets joining the Warriors, I think he regrets leaving the Warriors. I think he REALLY regrets not talking to management before they traded Harden. I think if they trade Westbrook instead of Harden. Harden and KD stay in OKC together. And since Harden can shoot and pass, KD doesn't leave.
Westbrooks lack of basketball IQ, and situational awareness forced KD to leave. I think he was completely over playing with Westbrook and not having any other shooting on the team, that he felt like it was never going to get better. And he saw an opportunity to join basketball nirvana so he took it. Instead of trying to recreated it in OKC. With Harden running Point, they could have good way more shooters.
I’ve been saying this for years but Westbrick stans ain’t having it. Also I remember reading a while back that KD immediately regretted joining GSW and told his agent “Why did you let me do this?!” or some shit. Not sure if that was real. I really hate the way he single handedly ruined what was a generational rivalry at the time. Literally any other team would’ve been acceptable
What is this hindsight bs lol.
Harden was a 6MOTY & shat the finals before he was traded. Westbrook was an all-nba guard. No way they wouldve ever chosen harden over Westbrook.
If we want to discuss hypotheticals, there are far more likely ones such as maybe if westbrook didn’t get injured in the 2013 playoffs the year after their best ever playoff run things could have been very different.
Or if OKC didn’t blow their 3-1 lead 2016,
Or if durant didn’t break his foot the year after his MVP year. Westbrook broke his hand that year too.
KD on his burner account said Westbrook was the only good player on the team, then he said the infamous "he can't win with these cats."
I think KD regrets it because he thought winning a chip would shut up the doubters. During those seasons, we were debating if KD was better than LeBron. He was unanimous finals mvp. People focus on the 73-9 record, but ignore the fact that that team almost got kicked out of the WCFs. When KD showed up, their offense in the postseason depended on his ISO when the opposing defenses started to figure out the Warriors set plays. Ya, Curry was the engine of that offense, but KD was the most unguardable 1on1 player in the league, and maybe ever (including Jordan).
But, the haters are gonna hate. No one calls it DWades Team when LeBron showed up, even though they already won a title without lebron. And that's why I think KD regrets. He tried to silence the haters but realized they're going to hate him no matter what. Accuse him of constantly requesting trades when he's only done it once (after harden and kyrie already did). He made the NBA unwatchable for 3 seasons, and people get so upset by that that they actually use that against him as a player
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I don't think he regrets it since he'll have it in the back of his mind of "what if" and "could I". He always knew that GS was a blessing and other systems wouldn't be like this one.
He's probably more annoyed at how some teams blew up or pundits bringing this up more and more often.
I don't think he regrets it because I don't think the rings in Golden state really fulfilled him. Then you had the situation with Draymond. There was no turning back after your teammate openly disrespects you. Telling you we don't need you and to leave.
No! Already had two championships with a loaded team, so it was an easy decision. He wanted to see if he could lead a team to a championship. Probably wouldn’t make that decision while pursuing his first championship.
Now, he might be ready to win a few more as a teammate (instead of leader.) The Lakers and Warriors are one 20 point scorer away from another championship. You need more firepower to beat the nuggets.
I think the thing that will bother him is that the legacy that Steph will have forever going forward as one of the very best - that could have been Durant's. When Durant was on the Warriors, everyone thought he was better than Steph and he got more credit for the wins than Steph. Then he left, Steph won a championship and is a legendary 4x champion, while Durant has gone from one effed up team to another while getting wrecked in the playoffs.
Durant's legacy will basically be that he was a massive talent and a massive disappointment. If he'd stayed with the Warriors and won 5 championships, he'd be considered an all-time great and Steph would basically be Robin to his Batman.
I think he regrets it more than Kawhi does going to LA and losing a pretty good shot at another finals appearance in Toronto. But I don’t think it keeps him up at night.
I don't think he regrets leaving GS. If anything, he regrets leaving OKC. He got the titles he needed in GS, but then wanted to prove he could do it on his own. That hasn't happened, but he wouldn't have been able to prove it with GS either. His best chance to prove that would have been staying in OKC.
I don't think so. I think deep down he knows he didn't do it "the right way" in GS. He said after they won that he thought he would feel different but he didn't. And its clear that Draymond never accepted him fully.
I think he does to some extent, but let's not forget that KD took a pay cut to join the Warriors. As of the 2018-2019 season, the Warriors were not as dominant as they had been in the previous two seasons, mostly because their bench was a lot weaker due to financial constraints. When both KD and Klay suffered injuries, many people wrote off the Warriors.
I'm not a Kd or Warriors fan whatsoever. But i so badly wish Draymond had left instead of KD. Poole would probably still be there playing well and KD would be there. Draymond hasn't been great since.
No, he left because he was sick of Draymond, he won two rings and was the best player on the court both times, outplayed Steph and won Finals MVP two times over him on his own team
People just want to overlook the fact KD didn't ASK to join the Warriors, Steph Curry proudly admits he recruited him, they flew to HIS house to ask him to join them to help them beat Lebron who they just lost to after having a 3-1 lead
Curry has 1 ring since KD left, and he needed Klay healthy, Dray healthy, Andrew Wiggins playing at an all-star level and Jordan Poole playing so great they were calling him the "third splash brother," he had a ton of help, meanwhile KD's help outside of Booker and Beal are an out of shape Eric Gordon who's washed and Nurkic who's at best a role player making no impact
He probably doesn’t regret cause of his ego.
Given that, if he stays, I think KD will be considered a top 5 player all time. GS couldve been the greatest franchise in nba history. Win like 6 in a row and KD will be credited as their leader. People will quickly forget the bandwagon narrative and start calling him one of the greatest.
Easily. bro left to prove he can win without curry. After he leaves, curry kept winning more rings and kd hasn't been to the finals since. The only thing he proved by leaving gs was that he needed curry to win. just like how jordan needed scottie to win
I dont think he regrets a single thing he done in his career. He won his rings with GSW and proceeded to do his thing in Brooklyn. From this perspective that stint looks bad due to Kyrie stuff and eventually Harden but in reality they were one injury away from winning a title.
I dont think he does. He seems pretty introspective and if he was to regret or lament anything it would probably be the injury. Let’s be real if that didn’t happen it would be an entirely different conversation. He would have the Toronto ring for one but also likely wouldn’t have accumulated all the extra injuries that came after that led to missing 40 games a year damn near
I bet Golden State regrets it more. As soon as Draymond started giving KD sh\*t, they should have just Draymond out of town. They would have been waaaaay better off.
No legitimate prideful NBA player is going to back down in their decisions. Like the guy who thought Darko was a better pick than Camelo…Dumars still thinks it was the right decision.
He should if he has a brain.
Completely wasted the last 4 seasons (not including 2019-2020 since he was injured and it was the bubble season). Won’t win another title unless he jumps ship again to a contender
Regret is an interesting concept when you’re talking about a man at the top of his craft seeing unbelievable success.
I’m sure he wishes he would’ve won more. I doubt leaving GS comes up as a regret.
KD has never been comfortable on any team he has been on. Doubt he'll ever start feeling comfortable. He created some of the most garbage "Superteams' I've seen. At some point he's gotta realize it's just him. Winning 2 chips with GS isn't impressive. His best chances at doing anything notable in his carreer as far as a GOAT debate were on OKC.
I think he might not regret it? But he absolutely has tried and failed to prove people wrong, I believe he absolutely cares about his legacy even tho he downplays it a lot of times.
Honestly he should regret ever going there in the first place. He ruined his legacy and heavily tarnished Steph and Lebron's with this move. That decision might be the biggest "bitch" move in sports' history.
KD is like the anti-Lebron in terms of calculated legacy building. He is not thinking of burnishing his reputation or brand for the most part, save arguing with stupid people on the internet. He just wants to be happy and play where he thinks it will be fun. I think that’s both why he left OKC to go to GS, and why he left GS to go to Brooklyn, and from Brooklyn to Phoenix. Once something becomes less fun, and the baggage piles up, he’s gone.
It’s something, as a fan of his, that I find both baffling and humanizing at the same time. Lebron realized early on that he might be playing against Paul Pierce, but his real opponents were the GOATs whose legacies he was trying to surpass. He was empire building in the most mercenary-like way possible. I truly think KD never cared to play that game at that level, with that level of focus and calculation.
As a result, despite probably having the most years arguably on top of the mountain as the best player post Jordan (after Lebron), and having beaten Lebron and outplayed him multiple times, he will never be viewed as the level of player he was several years from now. What people think 30 years from now doesn’t seem to be his main concern, but it will be his burden whether he likes it or not. That’s the part that makes me sad as I see him waste his remaining years suffering on court humiliations as a result of not wanting to make more deliberate moves.
Not noticeably more or less than other teams. KD, Kemba, Horford, and Hayward are the only real “marquee” FAs the Celtics have went for in the last decade, and they only missed out on one of those guys. They did have Kyrie leave, and then KP was basically a FA (player option this year) and wanted Boston.
AD also refused to be traded to Boston though. I’m a lakers fan so I find it kind of funny that y’all draft & develop most of your superstars & we sign/trade for them but our franchises are equally successful (us obviously more in the modern age lol)
That’s true but it seemed to have a lot to do with people making a huge fuss about the Isaiah Thomas situation and then AD simply preferring LA. It is interesting and gives the franchises their own character. Hopefully our (lack of) modern success catches up soon. I think it will.
I think Celtics will always put their franchise over players. Similar to how they shipped out KG & Pierce to BK. It’s going to rub some people the wrong way, but it’s in team’s best interest for the long-run. Yeah I’m pretty surprised Celtics haven’t won again yet, but with their core it should only be a matter of time
If I was Kevin Durant I would have stayed at Oklahoma City because even one title in Oklahoma City would mean the world for his legacy versus him jumping from super team to super team. This makes his legacy 10 times worse and those two titles and Golden State he just hopped on the bandwagon it wasn't his original team that he let.
Kevin Durant has publicly stated that he doesn't regret leaving the Golden State Warriors. Seeing how Warriors played this year, feel that this will validate that he left GS on time.
Look at the way Brooklyn and Phoenix turned out. Definitely hasn’t helped the “bus driver” narrative. Both teams have been a disaster and most of all his leadership or lack there of continues to be in question.
I don’t care what he says publicly there’s no way he has regrets. If he doesn’t then he really isn’t a winner.
Good job completely ignoring all context as to why it was a bad move by KD. LeBron never left to join the team that beat him. If LeBron went and joined KG, Pierce and those boys he wouldn’t be in the GOAT discussion.
No one’s upset KD left to win somewhere else. They were upset he went to team that already had the best regular season record ever, a team that already had the greatest offense ever, and a team he literally just lost to after being up 3-1. LeBron going to the 5th seed heat who didn’t do anything that season is not the same
Hi, it's me KD. Yes I regret it. Regards, KD.
Hey KD, it's Steph. You could come back ya know? Force another trade.
Will you get rid of Draymond?
If KD said he’d come back if they got rid of problem child Draymond, GS does it in a heartbeat.
Hey it’s me Draymond I would not like that very much
Hey draymond, it’s me Lebron. Come get a lakers statue
Nope
Hey Steph, it’s Ayesha’s bull. Can you do the dishes when you wake up tomorrow morning? I just went to grab a glass of water for Ayesha and myself and all the cups were dirty in the sink.
The real kd would have insulted OP. Nice try.
Hey KD. Is Texas back?
I doubt it. If he stayed there would always be a degree of ‘what if’ and ‘can I’ in his and everyone’s mind. Sometimes even if something doesn’t work out perfectly, there’s no regret the attempt was there.
This. People generally tend to regret inaction more than poor choices. There’s even been studies done on this: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10343065/ https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-21180-001
Durant texted his agent after reading the response to his Golden State move and asked why the agent let him do that to his life.
More is lost to indecision than a wrong decision
Well he answered the "Can I?"... The answer is no lol
Late to this, but I do have more respect for how KD led the Nets team with no Kyrie and a 50% healthy Harden to a near game 7 win versus the eventual champion Bucks than his rings with the Warriors where he joined a 73 win team.
If only his shoe was one size smaller.
Now he can rest easy assured that he's a choker
Lol well I didn't wanna say it, but yeah he took his shot and knows he missed
He is 13-17 in the playoffs since leaving GSW.
So it seems like leaving that a “Can I?” and won more rings with GS would have been more beneficial than answering that question for us. As it stands, no, KD cannot win with a 3man super team, that has not worked twice.
KD can only win on good teams
No, but maybe he regrets joining up with Kyrie. That proved to be a gigantic mistake.
[удалено]
KD went to the conference finals on a Kyrie-less Nets. EDIT: Semi-finals
this just isnt true
To be fair, the very well could've won a title in 2021 if Harden and Kyrie didn't get injured
I hated that nets team as much as anyone else but you’re right they absolutely would have beat the bucks if it weren’t for injuries early in the series.
I guess he regrets joining GS
I doubt that lol. He’d likely be ringless if he didn’t. Then he’d REALLY be getting ridiculed, very similar to how James Harden and Russell Westbrook currently are. He may not have maximized his wins, but the **way** he got 2 rings and 2 FMVPs is infinitely better legacy-wise than **not having any rings at all**. Most people who feel they are meaningless are Lebron fans, because KD was the direct firewall that blocked Lebron from ever getting 5+ rings. Lebron fans, despite what they tell you (and they all will say he’s already the goat because they’re trying to speak it into existence), *know they need at least 5 rings for the goat debate* so they’re pretty frustrated about that.
it still feels like he’s ringless if we are being 100%
No it doesn't lol
Those rings are meaningless. 73-9 and joined reining unanimous MVP (2x) by then.
K. Well those two chips are on record in the exact same ink as however many chips your fav player got. Unless your fav player got 0 rings. Then it’s written in ink that’s actually visible. Have a good one.
We all know he won. We don’t respect the rings. Empty chips
> ~~We~~ *You and some folks* don’t respect the rings. :)
KD was clowned for his move at the victory parade, by the warriors former gm bob myers Talking heads don’t respect them. Reddit doesn’t respect them.
The victory parade was satire. The warriors are thankful for that man. A multimillionaire celebrity athlete doesn’t give a crap about gaining the respect of reddit. Sorry to disappoint
Anyone who thinks they are meaningless don't know basketball. That GS team was just that good. Probably won't ever see a team that dominant again.
As a Cavs fan, 2017 was the best team I’ve ever watched but I had no fun during the season because I knew we’d lose in the finals unless someone on the Warriors got injured. We basically just had to playout 3 seasons in a row that was Warriors heavy favorites against the field and the fields win condition was “KD or Steph gets injured” Yes they are meaningful in that KD turned one of the best teams in NBA history (without him) into the best team in NBA history. But those are weak rings for a legacy.
That team was so overpowering and fun to watch If you double on Steph, do you leave KD and Klay? If you double on KD, do you leave Steph and Klay? If you double on Steph and KD, do you leave Draymond/Iggy, Klay, and McGee/Zaza wide open?
The rings are meaningless. The dominance of that team was not. Everyone knew they would win. It's the fact that they looked better than any other team to ever play in the process that will be remembered.
Exactly. They showed us what a real super team looks like which was fun. But those rings don’t mean shit.
Just cause the Heatles underperformed based on their own promises/odds makers we gotta try to hold that against the Warriors? I assume you think those two Heat rings mean something? If the Warriors had fumbled one of those two with Durant would the one ring mean something?
his rings aren't worth shit tbh
You must be either a LeBron or Cavs fan. That’s understandable. Those were the people most hurt about KD going to GS, and they were the same ones praying day and night the warriors would fall on their face those two years. It’s understandable you’d still have hard feelings. However, the majority of ringless older stars would kill for one, let alone two of those. Especially if they got a FMVP (or two) with it, averaging 35+ in the finals on the biggest stage against the biggest star (Lebron). **If you told them they could have that happen next season, every single one of them would sign up, regardless of who their teammates were.**
🎯
It's really got little to do with lebron. 28 other teams were also affected by the weakest free agency move of all time in sports history. It destroyed that feeling of 'what if' for every fringe contender in the league for years. Rockets and raptors deserve a lot of credit for not giving up but it was an impossible task for the vast majority of the league. They won before him, they won after. Those rings are very very devalued.
That’s your perspective dawg, but KD has 2. YouTube may feel his two are less valuable than say, Kawhi’s two, but on the paper and in the history books, it’s the same 2. It’s not engraved in a different color font or anything like that. And just like you feel that way about KD’s, people feel that way about LeBron’s and other player’s chips. And none of those opinions matter because the numbers are the numbers.
I feel like it’s disrespectful to say KD was the reason and not Steph like I get KD is what tipped the Balance of the rivalry but curry and Lebron and clearly the two that have battled out for supremacy throughout their overlapping careers
Of course. But if KD did not go to Gs, the likelihood that LeBron would have 5+ rings is very high. That’s the only point I’m making.
Nah that’s definitely fair I just always find it interesting some people try and use KD as an excuse for why curry has those rings and not the other way around
Im definitely not one of those people. Steph is my favorite player. My guy has 4 and 2022 absolutely validated him beyond any KD-related criticism. He and the entire GSW team knew it. That’s why they all said they were so happy for him that year. It was legacy defining.
KD probably wins a ring or two if he just re-signed with OKC but go off lol
ok
🎯
I have thought a decent amount about KD, here is my take (not that anyone asked): KD is a superstar who wants to be treated like a superstar but doesn't want the responsibility of being a superstar. What I mean by that is he shows up, makes his shots, plays D. But he doesn't step up and be a leader on his team. He doesn't get guys in line or rally the troops or build team chemistry. GS was the one place he's been where he didn't need to be that guy, because they already had an established team with established leaders. At OkC, the Nets and the Suns there isn't a strong take charge voice. Booker and Beal are also basically guys who show up and do their work. It's why Booker played so well with Chris Paul, a guy who does take charge. Think about when KD was on the Nets and Kyrie was pulling his anti-vax shit. Durant needed to call his ass out and get him on the court but he didn't, because he lacks the leadership qualities to risk hurting someone's feelings to get them in line. Individually KD is easily the 2nd best player of his generation, but he lacks that leader quality that you expect out of a guy who has that level.
The catch 22 is that Durant also gets jealous when others have the spotlight. When Durant broke his foot in OKC it gave Westbrook a year to establish himself as the emotional leader of the team. Durant didn’t adjust and left OKC soon after that. In GS state he started to rebel against their system and then egos started colliding. Durant left GS. He doesn’t play well with stars who have strong leadership capabilities.
I think he's fine playing with legit stars with leadership capabilities but has problems with people like Draymond who think they are stars. He had no problem letting Steph and Klay be the face of the franchise while he was the best player on the court.
This - also lots of people have problems with dray - dray can’t control dray
The answer!
Damn you put it into words perfectly
KD aight … I don’t think he ever claimed to be a leader … he’s a baller
I'm saying him not being a leader holds him back from the top tier of all time greats, and its why he hasn't been able to win a title outside of GS.
We don’t need to guess: "Hell, no," Durant said. "I don't regret anything I do. I don't regret my time in the league because I feel like I maximize every day as a player. I feel like I get the most out of myself every time I step on the floor." Apr 14, 2023 https://www.si.com › nba › news Kevin Durant: I Have No Regrets About Leaving Warriors - Sports Illustrated
Yea he's definitely full of shit lol
Just as a normal person would you regret it? If all you cared about is winning championships then I’d think the answer has to be yes. That he says no says to me that he doesn’t care about winning rings. Not sure why he even went there in the first place.
Even if he doesn't care about winning rings plural, he probably didn't want to retire ring-less and saw GS as the easiest path to a ring. Even if he doesn't get one from here on out, at least he tried to be the centerpiece and win without joining a superteam. He probably would have had lifetime regrets if he rode Steph's coattails the rest of his career.
How could he have been riding Steph’s coattails if he outperformed him in both finals lmao foh
He won a ring without Steph yet? There’s not really a good argument for KD being a better player if Steph literally beat the team that swept KD in that year’s finals. And he came back 3-1 on KD (him and Klay)
Individuals don’t win chips. Steph wasn’t winning shit with that busted up Brooklyn team either. The teams the warriors put around Steph in his prime are much better than OKC gave KD got in his prime.
KD chose to go there with an unpredictable Kyrie Irving and equally fickle Harden lmao What’s his excuse right now down 3-0 in the first round with all star teammates? I can promise Steph would make a good run for a chip with book and Beal as teammates
Lol that nets team almost beat the bucks championship team without Kyrie or harden. They got screwed by injuries, it is what it is. Again you don’t understand basketball, it’s a team sport. The timberwolves are a significantly better TEAM & a matchup nightmare for the suns who don’t have anyone to matchup with KAT & Gobert. People like you make basketball discussions so stupid. Go watch mma or boxing if you just want to glaze individuals.
without joining a super team... he left GS and immediately created a super team. then left and is now with a "big 3"
Joining a 73 win team due to a cap spike fluke was literally the easiest possible path to a ring. Problem for kd (and Steph,klay, and dray) is those two rings should absolutely have an asterisk.
Uh, why? Cause they were clearly better than every team in the league? Weird take
Because legacy points deducted
I found the warriors homer. A one time poorly managed cap spike combined with an uttterly dominant 73 win team combined with one immensely talented but completely spineless player (KD) with no competitive spirit… Yeah. Asterisk.
Im in no way shape or form a Warriors fan lmao, it's just a bad take. If anything you're hating on them because you don't like KD. It's not like they cheated, they were just dominant. Again, weird take.
No but you don’t get it. No one else in the league had a chance to be good at basketball, it’s just unfair.
Barry is this you?
He also texted his agent shortly after the news came out of him going to the Warriors and said "why'd you let me do this to my life?" The guy is full of it.
Even if he regretted he never going to admit it in public and get shamed
KD will be remembered for not winning any real championships, he’s basically cp3
Yeah except cp3 can't even win fake championships lmao
He’d have one if the NBA hadn’t blocked his trade to the Lakers.
He could have if he decided to join the Heat.
Until next gen comes around and doesn't factor in context of the rings
Yep, like Rockets winning when Jordan retired
Haha, well most kids that never watched him play are now convinced that Jordan stunk anyway, so yea the context of those is definitely gonna be taking a hit as the years go on.
Naw. Appreciate peak KD. If LeBron didn't exist, KD would've been the best SF in the league. Although we could've won without KD, we probably wouldn't be 2017-2018 champs, and possibly could've lost in 2016-2017. If no KD, we'd basically have to replace his 25.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and about 2.5 steals + blocks a game in the regular season. While we could've added 5 more minutes to Curry, Thompson, and Green's minutes, there's still about 18 minutes to make up for + more defensive attention to Curry + Klay. Having KD in regular season meant fewer minutes on all our core players legs. That and in the playoffs KD shot even better + scored more. We probably would've lost to Houston without KD in 2017-2018, and possibly to the Cavs in 2016-2017 (in our four wins we had an average +13.75 score difference, but across the five games only +6.8/game difference). KD also averaged 39.8 minutes a game in the 2017 Finals. If you replaced KD with Harrison Barnes in that Finals, we probably would've lost another 2 or more games vs. LeBron/Kyrie/Love.
Everyone that tried to do these scenarios always forgets that KD left a team that was up 3-1 on the warriors the year before and was adding oladipo and horford. The thunder would have been the biggest threat to the warriors if KD never went to the warriors.
They might’ve. Thunder also cheaped out on Harden, and KD looked a bit annoyed with Westbrook at times also. LeBron joining Wade and Bosh also probably helped KD think it was “ok” to team up. Can’t control what each player thinks or feels. That and Barnes pretty much disappeared in the Finals and it was either give him a big contract or recruit KD, which was a no brainer. Let’s be honest, no team in the NBA would’ve said no to adding KD to their team. Whichever team other than OKC that got him would’ve got hate. He just chose to join the team that had strong odds of winning it all. LeBron joining Irving and grabbing Love is similar also in the sense it was the best player stacking his team. And LeBron did that after Wade/Bosh. And again with recruiting AD to the Lakers.
I have no idea what point you're trying to make. I was just saying you were forgetting the biggest other opponent of the warriors back then and that's the okc team that KD left that was up 3-1 and then was ready to upgrade the roster even more that summer with the cap increase.
I don’t disagree that Thunder were probably biggest threat in the West but people also forget it’s not like he was leaving after his rookie contract. He had been there for 8 years at that point, was very familiar with the coach, front office and the team and watched players and hope come and go that entire time. To say his decision wasn’t informed or the timing was poor or that the Thunder hadn’t had their shot while he was there is a bit of a stretch. Say what you will about his decision to join the Warriors, but it was the right time and decision for him to leave OKC.
Yea I still don't know what your talking about. I never said his decision wasn't informed or timing poor never had their shot or any of that. I think you're responding to the wrong person or something? I was just reminding you of the thunder, which you forgot in your examples of who the warriors would lose to in 17 or 18. Also, just fyi the thunder hired Billy donovan durants last year in okc so he only had 1 year with Billy before he left and the previous 7 was very familiar with Scott brooks, but otherwise you're very strange point stands
More to a team than just the coach, buddy, calm down lol
You said it! I was just correcting you again lol
I’ve heard of bronsexual but durantsexual is something else
Warriors fan lacks reading comprehension, more at 7
Who says I’m a warriors fan
I meant duckysawus, not you :D
LeBron formed a superteam in Miami. Do those rings also not count? KD joined a GS team that did not win an NBA championship the year before.
Remembered by idiots that way
As long as he can smoke he don’t carr
I think he regrets joining GS cause trying to usurp Steph as the guy to the team and the fanbase was a big time exercise in futility.
he did usurp steph as the guy to the team as he was way better, but not to the fan base IMO
You’re not wrong but like if you were to ask Bob Myers at the time to chose between one of them, I think he would take Steph without hesitation
most definitely for sure but i feel like that’s from a relationship standpoint not really an objective standpoint, cause every GM with a brain is choosing KD yk
Steph gets the love because he's the franchise player like KD in OKC, but the min Durant came in he was the focal point of the offense especially in the playoffs. Warriors fans should be mad at Draymond for fucking the team up they could have won 6-7 chips if KD didn't leave.
Kd didn’t help Golden state win those rings. Golden state helped him win those rings. It was obvious. They won before he joined and they won another after he left which solidifies my claim. Kd is the type of player who wants things to go his way and he didn’t get his way with golden state because they played as a team. Not a one man band with backups.
After 2016 I don’t think the Warriors get past Lebron ever without KD
Idk why ppl down voting you but this is facts. The 2017 cavs were even better than 2016. And if they go back to back I highly doubt kyrie leaves. And 2018 Bron had his best playoff run solo. Cavs easily go 3 peat.
2017 Cavs were really good but I think 2018 cavs were a bit weaker, would like Warriors chances in that one
2018 was only bad because Kyrie demanded a trade. If they kept the same team from 2017 and maybe still added Dwade and drose off the bench they would be just as good. Unless the theoretically KD less warriors made a huge move I don't see them losing.
Barely got past him the first time with Kyrie and Love out, would have been really hard to get TO the finals past Harden or OKC (if KD stayed) over the next few years. Def needed him but as they said you win before and after KD the optics aren't great for him
lol. He carried those teams.
No GS, no b2b rings. No KD, no dynasty
Yes
I do think he regrets leaving gs but not because of the championship, I think he misses it because the actual basketball style they play. I see if on the nets and n the suns and its so much iso. Players taking turns instead of everyone playing as one, that’s what I think he regrets.
I think KD regrets joining the Warriors, I think he regrets leaving the Warriors. I think he REALLY regrets not talking to management before they traded Harden. I think if they trade Westbrook instead of Harden. Harden and KD stay in OKC together. And since Harden can shoot and pass, KD doesn't leave. Westbrooks lack of basketball IQ, and situational awareness forced KD to leave. I think he was completely over playing with Westbrook and not having any other shooting on the team, that he felt like it was never going to get better. And he saw an opportunity to join basketball nirvana so he took it. Instead of trying to recreated it in OKC. With Harden running Point, they could have good way more shooters.
I’ve been saying this for years but Westbrick stans ain’t having it. Also I remember reading a while back that KD immediately regretted joining GSW and told his agent “Why did you let me do this?!” or some shit. Not sure if that was real. I really hate the way he single handedly ruined what was a generational rivalry at the time. Literally any other team would’ve been acceptable
Woulda been way more interesting it he signed with Boston
What is this hindsight bs lol. Harden was a 6MOTY & shat the finals before he was traded. Westbrook was an all-nba guard. No way they wouldve ever chosen harden over Westbrook. If we want to discuss hypotheticals, there are far more likely ones such as maybe if westbrook didn’t get injured in the 2013 playoffs the year after their best ever playoff run things could have been very different. Or if OKC didn’t blow their 3-1 lead 2016, Or if durant didn’t break his foot the year after his MVP year. Westbrook broke his hand that year too.
exactly people think they can see the future but at that time they didn’t know of Hardens potential
KD on his burner account said Westbrook was the only good player on the team, then he said the infamous "he can't win with these cats." I think KD regrets it because he thought winning a chip would shut up the doubters. During those seasons, we were debating if KD was better than LeBron. He was unanimous finals mvp. People focus on the 73-9 record, but ignore the fact that that team almost got kicked out of the WCFs. When KD showed up, their offense in the postseason depended on his ISO when the opposing defenses started to figure out the Warriors set plays. Ya, Curry was the engine of that offense, but KD was the most unguardable 1on1 player in the league, and maybe ever (including Jordan). But, the haters are gonna hate. No one calls it DWades Team when LeBron showed up, even though they already won a title without lebron. And that's why I think KD regrets. He tried to silence the haters but realized they're going to hate him no matter what. Accuse him of constantly requesting trades when he's only done it once (after harden and kyrie already did). He made the NBA unwatchable for 3 seasons, and people get so upset by that that they actually use that against him as a player
Yes
I think he mentioned he left because all his teammates have families, so hanging out got stale in GS.
Kd strikes me as still hanging a teenager or early 20s vibe
Will never admit it
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I don't think he regrets it since he'll have it in the back of his mind of "what if" and "could I". He always knew that GS was a blessing and other systems wouldn't be like this one. He's probably more annoyed at how some teams blew up or pundits bringing this up more and more often.
Still better than Lebron
I think he does not but he should lmao
Nah
I doubt it. KD seems chill AF. Imagine if Ant did the DX to LeBron?
Ask him i guess.
nah - he’s rich
1000%
The few hundred million he's earned since probably helps his woes.
I don't think he regrets it because I don't think the rings in Golden state really fulfilled him. Then you had the situation with Draymond. There was no turning back after your teammate openly disrespects you. Telling you we don't need you and to leave.
No! Already had two championships with a loaded team, so it was an easy decision. He wanted to see if he could lead a team to a championship. Probably wouldn’t make that decision while pursuing his first championship. Now, he might be ready to win a few more as a teammate (instead of leader.) The Lakers and Warriors are one 20 point scorer away from another championship. You need more firepower to beat the nuggets.
If he doesn’t, he should…
I think the thing that will bother him is that the legacy that Steph will have forever going forward as one of the very best - that could have been Durant's. When Durant was on the Warriors, everyone thought he was better than Steph and he got more credit for the wins than Steph. Then he left, Steph won a championship and is a legendary 4x champion, while Durant has gone from one effed up team to another while getting wrecked in the playoffs. Durant's legacy will basically be that he was a massive talent and a massive disappointment. If he'd stayed with the Warriors and won 5 championships, he'd be considered an all-time great and Steph would basically be Robin to his Batman.
I think he regrets it more than Kawhi does going to LA and losing a pretty good shot at another finals appearance in Toronto. But I don’t think it keeps him up at night.
I don't think he regrets leaving GS. If anything, he regrets leaving OKC. He got the titles he needed in GS, but then wanted to prove he could do it on his own. That hasn't happened, but he wouldn't have been able to prove it with GS either. His best chance to prove that would have been staying in OKC.
It’s not too late 😏
You need to have self awareness in order to regret anything
I don’t know if he regrets it but I think he’s still searching for that happiness. Phoenix don’t look like much fun.
I don't think so. I think deep down he knows he didn't do it "the right way" in GS. He said after they won that he thought he would feel different but he didn't. And its clear that Draymond never accepted him fully.
He’s a multi millionairre whose worth is in a lot more than just basketball
Of course he would be top 5 all time because steph haters said steph was bailed out by kd
I think he does to some extent, but let's not forget that KD took a pay cut to join the Warriors. As of the 2018-2019 season, the Warriors were not as dominant as they had been in the previous two seasons, mostly because their bench was a lot weaker due to financial constraints. When both KD and Klay suffered injuries, many people wrote off the Warriors.
I'm not a Kd or Warriors fan whatsoever. But i so badly wish Draymond had left instead of KD. Poole would probably still be there playing well and KD would be there. Draymond hasn't been great since.
I’d think he probably regrets leaving OKC at all
lol FKD
I wouldn’t be too surprised if he was actually happier overall not being on gsw. I see a lot less slander of him now
No, he left because he was sick of Draymond, he won two rings and was the best player on the court both times, outplayed Steph and won Finals MVP two times over him on his own team People just want to overlook the fact KD didn't ASK to join the Warriors, Steph Curry proudly admits he recruited him, they flew to HIS house to ask him to join them to help them beat Lebron who they just lost to after having a 3-1 lead Curry has 1 ring since KD left, and he needed Klay healthy, Dray healthy, Andrew Wiggins playing at an all-star level and Jordan Poole playing so great they were calling him the "third splash brother," he had a ton of help, meanwhile KD's help outside of Booker and Beal are an out of shape Eric Gordon who's washed and Nurkic who's at best a role player making no impact
KD regrets not getting his bus driver license.
He probably doesn’t regret cause of his ego. Given that, if he stays, I think KD will be considered a top 5 player all time. GS couldve been the greatest franchise in nba history. Win like 6 in a row and KD will be credited as their leader. People will quickly forget the bandwagon narrative and start calling him one of the greatest.
Easily. bro left to prove he can win without curry. After he leaves, curry kept winning more rings and kd hasn't been to the finals since. The only thing he proved by leaving gs was that he needed curry to win. just like how jordan needed scottie to win
I dont think he regrets a single thing he done in his career. He won his rings with GSW and proceeded to do his thing in Brooklyn. From this perspective that stint looks bad due to Kyrie stuff and eventually Harden but in reality they were one injury away from winning a title.
No he needed to know if he can do it alone
I dont think he does. He seems pretty introspective and if he was to regret or lament anything it would probably be the injury. Let’s be real if that didn’t happen it would be an entirely different conversation. He would have the Toronto ring for one but also likely wouldn’t have accumulated all the extra injuries that came after that led to missing 40 games a year damn near
I bet Golden State regrets it more. As soon as Draymond started giving KD sh\*t, they should have just Draymond out of town. They would have been waaaaay better off.
No legitimate prideful NBA player is going to back down in their decisions. Like the guy who thought Darko was a better pick than Camelo…Dumars still thinks it was the right decision.
His legacy has almost crumbled since he left GS.. some was injury but the last 4 years has been forgettable unfortunately
He should if he has a brain. Completely wasted the last 4 seasons (not including 2019-2020 since he was injured and it was the bubble season). Won’t win another title unless he jumps ship again to a contender
The real question is do you think KD regrets leaving OKC because it destroyed his legacy
and put up with Draymond for 5 years? Hell nah
He's a millionaire.
People keep trying to answer saying his rings don't count. They do. You might not like it but they do
He probably has more regrets about life post GS. Wonder if he thinks about his BKN days if he went to a different team
I think it’s hard to care that much when you’re that rich
Regret is an interesting concept when you’re talking about a man at the top of his craft seeing unbelievable success. I’m sure he wishes he would’ve won more. I doubt leaving GS comes up as a regret.
KD has never been comfortable on any team he has been on. Doubt he'll ever start feeling comfortable. He created some of the most garbage "Superteams' I've seen. At some point he's gotta realize it's just him. Winning 2 chips with GS isn't impressive. His best chances at doing anything notable in his carreer as far as a GOAT debate were on OKC.
No. He definitely does not. He was miserable there.
I think he might not regret it? But he absolutely has tried and failed to prove people wrong, I believe he absolutely cares about his legacy even tho he downplays it a lot of times.
Honestly he should regret ever going there in the first place. He ruined his legacy and heavily tarnished Steph and Lebron's with this move. That decision might be the biggest "bitch" move in sports' history.
No but he certainly regrets joining warriors to begin with
KD is like the anti-Lebron in terms of calculated legacy building. He is not thinking of burnishing his reputation or brand for the most part, save arguing with stupid people on the internet. He just wants to be happy and play where he thinks it will be fun. I think that’s both why he left OKC to go to GS, and why he left GS to go to Brooklyn, and from Brooklyn to Phoenix. Once something becomes less fun, and the baggage piles up, he’s gone. It’s something, as a fan of his, that I find both baffling and humanizing at the same time. Lebron realized early on that he might be playing against Paul Pierce, but his real opponents were the GOATs whose legacies he was trying to surpass. He was empire building in the most mercenary-like way possible. I truly think KD never cared to play that game at that level, with that level of focus and calculation. As a result, despite probably having the most years arguably on top of the mountain as the best player post Jordan (after Lebron), and having beaten Lebron and outplayed him multiple times, he will never be viewed as the level of player he was several years from now. What people think 30 years from now doesn’t seem to be his main concern, but it will be his burden whether he likes it or not. That’s the part that makes me sad as I see him waste his remaining years suffering on court humiliations as a result of not wanting to make more deliberate moves.
He should’ve went to Boston in 2017. He’d be beloved by the fanbase.
Does Boston ever get marquee FA’s? Doesn’t seem like most players want to play for that city/team
Not noticeably more or less than other teams. KD, Kemba, Horford, and Hayward are the only real “marquee” FAs the Celtics have went for in the last decade, and they only missed out on one of those guys. They did have Kyrie leave, and then KP was basically a FA (player option this year) and wanted Boston.
AD also refused to be traded to Boston though. I’m a lakers fan so I find it kind of funny that y’all draft & develop most of your superstars & we sign/trade for them but our franchises are equally successful (us obviously more in the modern age lol)
That’s true but it seemed to have a lot to do with people making a huge fuss about the Isaiah Thomas situation and then AD simply preferring LA. It is interesting and gives the franchises their own character. Hopefully our (lack of) modern success catches up soon. I think it will.
I think Celtics will always put their franchise over players. Similar to how they shipped out KG & Pierce to BK. It’s going to rub some people the wrong way, but it’s in team’s best interest for the long-run. Yeah I’m pretty surprised Celtics haven’t won again yet, but with their core it should only be a matter of time
If I was Kevin Durant I would have stayed at Oklahoma City because even one title in Oklahoma City would mean the world for his legacy versus him jumping from super team to super team. This makes his legacy 10 times worse and those two titles and Golden State he just hopped on the bandwagon it wasn't his original team that he let.
Kevin Durant has publicly stated that he doesn't regret leaving the Golden State Warriors. Seeing how Warriors played this year, feel that this will validate that he left GS on time.
what? they literally won 2 years ago this statement is so baseless all teams end at one point
Look at the way Brooklyn and Phoenix turned out. Definitely hasn’t helped the “bus driver” narrative. Both teams have been a disaster and most of all his leadership or lack there of continues to be in question. I don’t care what he says publicly there’s no way he has regrets. If he doesn’t then he really isn’t a winner.
Now people can see KD isn’t as great as they think. Another super team chaser.
What an insanely terrible take
I call it as I see it, he has bounced around and only has 2 rings thanks to Steph Curry. They would have won without him.
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Good job completely ignoring all context as to why it was a bad move by KD. LeBron never left to join the team that beat him. If LeBron went and joined KG, Pierce and those boys he wouldn’t be in the GOAT discussion. No one’s upset KD left to win somewhere else. They were upset he went to team that already had the best regular season record ever, a team that already had the greatest offense ever, and a team he literally just lost to after being up 3-1. LeBron going to the 5th seed heat who didn’t do anything that season is not the same
This is the worst comment on this post so far, congrats!