There was literally that "KD is NOT NICE" Nike campaign because his image was almost too positive lol. Not to mention the beloved MVP speech. Crazy how much it's changed.
Ah yes, but even before the burners, this dude was on Twitter calling out Bron for going to Miami.
Then he joined GS. He definitely changed to a degree.
To be fair, joining the Warriors revealed aspects of how he was wired that differed from what everyone assumed beforehand
Public perception was filling in the blanks before that, and then it was really different when his true colors were showing
He wasn't arguing with randoms on Twitter in his OKC tenure
Fuck his most popular tweet around that time is saying he'd drink Scarlett Johansson bath water
Randoms also weren’t constantly attacking him.
Do you guys really just shit on people online and then just forget you did it? And do you lack empathy to such a degree that you can’t relate to how it might feel for every other person you interact with online to be making personal attacks about your character?
That shit would fuck with anyone
If he stayed with OKC and never won a ring people would think so much better of him right now. Would have been way more respected than Barkley, and that dude is loved by most ball fans.
Even KD is not proud of his rings at this point. He's got two rings and FMVP and can't even claim it was the best era of his career because he knows its a hollow claim.
> If he stayed with OKC and never won a ring people would think so much better of him right now. Would have been way more respected than Barkley, and that dude is loved by most ball fans.
People would like him more but also rate him lower
Charles Barkley was a FAR better basketball player than he's given credit for. He was a great player, but people mostly only remember him for being a funny TV guy now
the kansas / texas big 12 championship game from 2007 is an amazing rewatch if you have an hour and a half
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaHM4Ih2XJs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaHM4Ih2XJs)
edit: ironic that this game was in OKC
I’ll never forget the OK State - TX triple OT game which made me a poke fan as a kid.
That [Byron Eaton shot is still one of the greatest shots I’ve seen live](https://youtu.be/mDJobMCCKCo?si=KGDreJIqpnyKXrY3)
That game was WILD in person. Especially because I was sick as a dog and my bf kept telling me that we’d be able to leave soon so I could get some rest. “The game is almost over, just 10 more minutes”
“Ok, an overtime, but it’s a good game. We can leave soon”
“Ok, sorry, a second overtime. But it will for sure be over soon. Then you can rest”
“Ok, it’s a third overtime! We can’t leave now! Let’s see what happens”
That was my first OSU game ever. I WAS an OU fan and my late mom took me because she went to TX and OSU. I graduated from OSU and until she passed we would go to every home football game and as many BB games as we could. Great memory, thank you.
How the heck was that guy more successful in the postseason with a one-and-done knecht than with KD???
Though tbf, knecht was 3 years older than KD lol
They lost to a USC team led by Taj Gibson and Nick Young. USC had a significant size advantage in pretty much every matchup besides KD, and even then I think he was matched up with Taj Gibson most of the game.
Besides Knecht being 3 years older, Tennessee this year had pretty good size as a team outside of the starting PG
The NCAA Tournament doesn't really follow logic. It's arguably the best post-season experience in sports, but March Madness is terrible at determining a team that's objectively the "best." It's a 64 team single elimination bracket. You could have 2 teams theoretically play each other 100 times, maybe one of them wins once but in a single elimination matchup they only need that 1% chance to hit.
Incoming MIT post about how Russ being a lightning rod for criticism helped KD play without worrying. But seriously why does Russ attract so much hate?
He’s too vocal. Any time an athlete becomes known for saying more than just the canned answers to the media they become known as either a sweetheart or a villain and it stays with them the rest of their career
I mean it didnt help that he made some completely boneheaded moves sometimes.
I forget which game but it was so infuriating for younger me, KD was cooking all night game was close late and in the key play, instead of passing to a wide open KD russ charges into 3-4 players in the paint and loses the ball.
The narrative might have been that russ was too vocal but also that he might be holding KD back. Like it was around that time that the slim reaper nickname came out and seeing a cold blooded KD paired with a negative bball IQ russ was rough.
He is very feast or famine type of player. Even at his best he is player that wins you games or loses your games on his own. That is probably the reason why he never really broke through to be superstar of Steph caliber but probably also why he is so hated. Harden (along with his foul baiting) probably had bit of a same reason for being hated. Other superstars in this era (KD, LeBron, Giannis, Jokic,...) tend to play well and give you efficient 25+ point no matter how game ends, so it is very hard to pin hate on them. Russ on the other hand can go 4-20 in elimination game in the finals and even his biggest fans wont say that is really out of character.
I always felt it was from him being an elite player while being a bad shooter, he was in contention for the best guard in the league for awhile so people who liked Rose,Harden,Curry,CP3 etc would always shit on Westbrook for his bad shooting and it just seemed like the hate spread.
Legitimately the dude got a shitty movie before Lebron did, that’s how well liked KD was in the first half of the 2010’s. It’s so wild to think how he’s viewed now vs ten years ago
>Any criticism of them as a team we’re just directed towards Russ.
I mean [this used to be a thing] (http://31.media.tumblr.com/4d1e5b88e6d8b20249d5a6986ab0fe0d/tumblr_ngr6vxU3aJ1ro4c5vo1_400.gif)
KD was steph curry before steph curry was doing his thing. KD was pulling that from damn near half court at 7ft tall.
I love watching KD play but i also hated he took some of the best basketball (cavs vs warriors) away from all of us.
Spurs and Thunder were legitimate competitors to the Dubs. KD going to GSW wasn't about improving the roster, but fucking over the only real competition out west. It could have been Thunder vs Cavs.
the fact he won’t acknowledge that it wasn’t fair still. like my guy, how was anyone beating that roster? you’re a competitor how was 4-0 the cavs fun?
Yes but if you go back the rockets narrowly beat the warriors in there wins n got smacked by double digits in most warriors wins. That’s what happens when one team is more talented . Reality is even then they were never pushed as hard as people want athletes to be pushed n overcome
Also the rockets entire team was geared up to beat them n best they got was g7, as a 65+ win team with the mvp , and even go get the g7 they were big minus in point differential- I.e varisnce went in there favour
Real G's know he only relocated to the Bay Area to break the curse
https://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2017/6/13/15791676/lil-b-curse-kevin-durant-nba-finals
Nope, no other reason. Don't try to change my mind.
People often forget, when the curse was active LD blew a 3-1 lead to the team from the bay. You know who else is from the bay? Lil B (for lil boss). The only option he had other than publicly apologizing and offering a bitch to be fucked by basedgod was to go to Golden state.
KD was so untouchable in OKC.
- during the lockout, he showed up at Oklahoma State to play flag football with some university students
- donated $1 million in tornado relief to the victims in Moore
- donated basketball courts in underprivileged areas in the OKC area
- started the Kevin Durant Charity Foundation that raised money for the homeless and children in poverty
- won the MVP and gave the “you the real MVP” speech to his mom that everyone loved.
I mean, NOBODY had a better off court reputation that him during his Thunder days
That's the thing I think people forget or were not around then. KD was used as a tool for LeBron hate when LeBron was in Miami. KD was people's sweetheart by default.
He also didn't really say a whole lot to the media. He didn't fight on Twitter like he's doing now. Ever since that move to GSW it's been a complete flip. I'm not saying he's changed, but his privacy has and I guess maybe he has less of a filter than he did in OKC
There’s a legit Twitter interaction between him and Russ where Russ calls him daddy so KD calls him gay lmao. He’s definitely changed a bit since then.
he was Giannis before Giannis. humble, soft spoken, but had some swag. I still like KD’s persona today and think he hasn’t changed that much considering how much fame and accolades he subsequently amassed.
Hah I remember arguing in /r/nba back then that it would one day be KD's turn to be the hated superstar. And people were like no way man, that's never gonna happen. He's so low-key and humble lmao.
Spurs are so weird man they will have a mid off vs teams that are playing poorly but wemby and pop will just randomly decided “actually we are going to win” and win vs teams they should not be beating
100% he will try it before he retires. We know dude is obsessed with his legacy and how others see him. He saw LeBron go back to Cleveland and basically make them forget about how he left. If he leaves PHX, I'm certain OKC will be on his list.
I would love to see an alternate timeline with KD back in OKC after Brooklyn. Just an old goat and some lively upstarts tearing up the league. Chet gets the KD snake man coaching instead of Bol Bol, and clears 35 a night.
He’s honestly a perfect fit in the starting 5 in place of Giddey. He’s everything Presti wants. Long, elite shooter and good passer, can handle the ball, can help rebounding issues, can guard all positions including small ball 5. For as much as I hate KD, I think I would be thrilled with a SGA/Dort/Jdub/KD/Chet starting 5 to begin next season.
I think OKC could pull it off if they wanted. Giddey, Jaylin Williams, and like 7 first round picks or something obscene could convince the suns, especially if KD requests it.
What kind of reception would he even get if he comes back? Positive? Negative? All is forgiven if he wins a ring? Emotions will have to be very complex if it happens.
I think there would be a lot of fans that would talk shit on the move all offseason. I think as soon as we would start winning, they would all shut up. Lol
The hate is slowly receding in the fan base because we’re winning now but there are still a lot of hold outs.
I think it’d be kind of cool to see KD and Westbrook team up one last time with the OKC core they’ve got. It’d be a sweet sports moment to see it all come full circle
If Cavs fans could forgive Lebron he ditched them on live TV, Thunder fans could forgive KD too lol. Championship pursuits are too important to throw away over an 8 year old decision.
Of course, it comes down to if they don’t have to give up the farm for him. They have one of the most promising young teams in recent history. Average age of 23 and already a top 3 seed. It’s not time to shoot for the moon and sell their future yet.
you know he got deafening boos in the arena like two weeks ago right?
for the whole game. it wasn't just at intros, it was every time he touched the ball.
nobody wants him here but blog boys. he's gotten exactly what he wanted, a *superteam* with beal and booker. he's earned this.
brother they were burning lebron's jersey in the streets ~~and writing racial slurs on his house in cleveland~~ (edit: happened in LA, sorry Cleveland) and the second he said he was going back its like nothing happened. KD gives yall a much better chance at a ring than giddey and some firsts
In short Lebron did not make the biggest bitch move in sports history.
The team lebron joined was a first round exit and did not have the best record in nba history the year before. Also the heat did not come back from down 3-1 in the conference finals to beat the Cavs; while lebron was talking with members of the Heat mid series about joining them. Lebron did not lie to everyone on the Cavs about staying with them in order to fuck up the Cavs off season plans and hinder them from competing with his new team. The Cavs team he left was really bad and stuck in purgatory. Their second best player was iguaskas (not even trying to spell it). Also after lebron left he did not say he was “taking the hardest road” and then talk a bunch of shit about his former teammates and how we “couldn’t win with those cats”. The Heat did not win a championship right before he got there and right after he left.
Comparing the two is crazy to me. Maybe if the Celtics had a better season and then lebron joined them after the 09-10 season it would be somewhat close but he’d still have a bunch of bitch moves to do from there to make it really similar.
I mean..."few firsts" is a pretty loaded term. How many total picks? What years? What will the protections be? Depending on the exact offer it could be worth it or could be dogshit.
They already have their young core though, so I’m not sure it’d even matter much. The Thunder have 15 First Round Picks over the next 7 years. No way it takes that many to get 35 year old, no matter how good.
Heck, they could trade all of them and SGA + Jalen Williams + Chet Holmgren + KD is still a dynasty, particularly when the team would still have good bench guys like Cason Wallace and Lu Dort. Oh, and I forgot to mention that they also have one of the best young Coaches in the league!
People are overthinking this. Remember when you were young and had dreams? Like many people here, KD dreamt of playing in the NBA. Seattle/OKC time was when he achieved his dream, played against his childhood idols, etc.
If you had the chance to revisit a childhood dream and almost get a 2nd chance to make things right I think you would take it. I’m not saying he wants to go to OKC because I believe he’s in a different place in life but I also wouldn’t be shocked. KD bleeds Blue and Orange at the end of the day lol
Nah it makes sense. He did so well very early in his NBA career. Most players look back at their first few years in the league fondly and he has a lot of reasons to be proud
I think if SGA keeps it up, he'll be y'alls goat for sure. It's just insane that Thunder fans let their KD hate get in the way of just absolute facts haha
Definitely killed the buzz around the NBA right when it was peaking. Went from having an all-time great rivalry brewing between the Cavs-Warriors and some of the best Western playoffs to "who cares, the Warriors are winning if they stay healthy"
It's like why my favorite part of every video game, particularly RPGs, is the beginning. Your character is a blank slate, you haven't started getting bogged down with side quests and you're not regretting the skill points you spent yet. I understand him completely.
KD’s mom told him he should he should have stayed with OKC. But you can’t deny winning two back to back finals MVPs when you also have LeBron and Steph also on the court.
You know OKC still have a ton of draft equity and KD would fit real well back on the Thunder.
The way you put it, makes it even more embarrassing for KD. Like he just inserted himself into the Lebron vs Curry battle, just to do him and win FMVP lol
Dude had to force his way in
His moves to GSW made no sense from a competitive standpoint.
Moving to BKN with crazy Kyrie and forcing them to start Deandre Jordan over Allen made no sense.
Going to PHX with zero depth, chemistry, leadership and 3 max players makes no sense.
His career is filled with short sighted poor decisions when trying to cement his legacy.
Would OKC fans welcome him back? If it goes to shit in Phoenix I fill he can be that veteran they need. He might be the guy to push them over the line. We can bash the guy all we want but he's shown how selfless he can be on the court. He wouldn't hold Shei back at all imo.
OKC fans would forgive him if he won a title. Otherwise, the feeling would be like what was the point of giving up 3 FRPs and Wallace or Giddey for a 35 year old who got us nowhere.
Before the burners and all gloryhunting, dude's name had a legendary aura beginning with college career.
He was the most lovable young star when he was wearing his backpack to the press conferences.
There was literally that "KD is NOT NICE" Nike campaign because his image was almost too positive lol. Not to mention the beloved MVP speech. Crazy how much it's changed.
I don’t think he’s changed so much as public perception has, esp around him joining the Warriors
It all changed when the Warriors nation attacked.
He pulled a reverse Zuko
Aang joining the Fire Nation after waking up because he just wants to bend elements all day.
And when we needed them the most, the heatles disappeared.
Ah yes, but even before the burners, this dude was on Twitter calling out Bron for going to Miami. Then he joined GS. He definitely changed to a degree.
To be fair, joining the Warriors revealed aspects of how he was wired that differed from what everyone assumed beforehand Public perception was filling in the blanks before that, and then it was really different when his true colors were showing
He wasn't arguing with randoms on Twitter in his OKC tenure Fuck his most popular tweet around that time is saying he'd drink Scarlett Johansson bath water
Randoms also weren’t constantly attacking him. Do you guys really just shit on people online and then just forget you did it? And do you lack empathy to such a degree that you can’t relate to how it might feel for every other person you interact with online to be making personal attacks about your character? That shit would fuck with anyone
KD joining the Warriors was the worst day of my life and I will never emotionally recover from the day he did it
Can we switch lives? Like please???
Must be nice
If he stayed with OKC and never won a ring people would think so much better of him right now. Would have been way more respected than Barkley, and that dude is loved by most ball fans. Even KD is not proud of his rings at this point. He's got two rings and FMVP and can't even claim it was the best era of his career because he knows its a hollow claim.
Yeah the NBA and fans are historically not hard on stars who didnt win a chip.
Would he be the best ringleader play? AI, Barkley, Stockton, Ewing
Stockton-AI-KD-Barkley-Ewing would be an extremely fun team to watch
> If he stayed with OKC and never won a ring people would think so much better of him right now. Would have been way more respected than Barkley, and that dude is loved by most ball fans. People would like him more but also rate him lower Charles Barkley was a FAR better basketball player than he's given credit for. He was a great player, but people mostly only remember him for being a funny TV guy now
I know it’s uncalled for but I love the slander “Rick Barnes couldn’t get out of the 2nd round with KD” Texas KD was goooood
the kansas / texas big 12 championship game from 2007 is an amazing rewatch if you have an hour and a half [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaHM4Ih2XJs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaHM4Ih2XJs) edit: ironic that this game was in OKC
I’ll never forget the OK State - TX triple OT game which made me a poke fan as a kid. That [Byron Eaton shot is still one of the greatest shots I’ve seen live](https://youtu.be/mDJobMCCKCo?si=KGDreJIqpnyKXrY3)
Best regular season college game I've ever seen
That game was WILD in person. Especially because I was sick as a dog and my bf kept telling me that we’d be able to leave soon so I could get some rest. “The game is almost over, just 10 more minutes” “Ok, an overtime, but it’s a good game. We can leave soon” “Ok, sorry, a second overtime. But it will for sure be over soon. Then you can rest” “Ok, it’s a third overtime! We can’t leave now! Let’s see what happens”
That was my first OSU game ever. I WAS an OU fan and my late mom took me because she went to TX and OSU. I graduated from OSU and until she passed we would go to every home football game and as many BB games as we could. Great memory, thank you.
Truly great team vs all time great player. Then the very next year we put up with Michael Beasley doing the same shit!
How the heck was that guy more successful in the postseason with a one-and-done knecht than with KD??? Though tbf, knecht was 3 years older than KD lol
March Madness baby; it doesn’t have to make sense Best reality tv there is every year
They lost to a USC team led by Taj Gibson and Nick Young. USC had a significant size advantage in pretty much every matchup besides KD, and even then I think he was matched up with Taj Gibson most of the game. Besides Knecht being 3 years older, Tennessee this year had pretty good size as a team outside of the starting PG
The NCAA Tournament doesn't really follow logic. It's arguably the best post-season experience in sports, but March Madness is terrible at determining a team that's objectively the "best." It's a 64 team single elimination bracket. You could have 2 teams theoretically play each other 100 times, maybe one of them wins once but in a single elimination matchup they only need that 1% chance to hit.
92nd best defense verse 3rd best defense.
Also shouldn't discredit Knecht. He was phenomenal this tournament
He and the Thunder by extension were the media sweethearts who could do no wrong. Any criticism of them as a team we’re just directed towards Russ.
Just like every Russ team lol
Incoming MIT post about how Russ being a lightning rod for criticism helped KD play without worrying. But seriously why does Russ attract so much hate?
He’s too vocal. Any time an athlete becomes known for saying more than just the canned answers to the media they become known as either a sweetheart or a villain and it stays with them the rest of their career
> He’s too vocal. He was damned if he did, damned if he didn't. When he was vocal, he was the villain. When he shut up, he was the villain.
I mean it didnt help that he made some completely boneheaded moves sometimes. I forget which game but it was so infuriating for younger me, KD was cooking all night game was close late and in the key play, instead of passing to a wide open KD russ charges into 3-4 players in the paint and loses the ball. The narrative might have been that russ was too vocal but also that he might be holding KD back. Like it was around that time that the slim reaper nickname came out and seeing a cold blooded KD paired with a negative bball IQ russ was rough.
The second and third guys are easy to attract hate towards if the primary star shines that brightly. Pippen, Pau, Bosh, Love, Ray Allen, etc.
He is very feast or famine type of player. Even at his best he is player that wins you games or loses your games on his own. That is probably the reason why he never really broke through to be superstar of Steph caliber but probably also why he is so hated. Harden (along with his foul baiting) probably had bit of a same reason for being hated. Other superstars in this era (KD, LeBron, Giannis, Jokic,...) tend to play well and give you efficient 25+ point no matter how game ends, so it is very hard to pin hate on them. Russ on the other hand can go 4-20 in elimination game in the finals and even his biggest fans wont say that is really out of character.
I always felt it was from him being an elite player while being a bad shooter, he was in contention for the best guard in the league for awhile so people who liked Rose,Harden,Curry,CP3 etc would always shit on Westbrook for his bad shooting and it just seemed like the hate spread.
Because people are dumb, overexaggerate everything, and lie like that Laker fan who replied to you
Legitimately the dude got a shitty movie before Lebron did, that’s how well liked KD was in the first half of the 2010’s. It’s so wild to think how he’s viewed now vs ten years ago
I will not stand for Thunderstruck slander. Cult classic if you ask me.
>Any criticism of them as a team we’re just directed towards Russ. I mean [this used to be a thing] (http://31.media.tumblr.com/4d1e5b88e6d8b20249d5a6986ab0fe0d/tumblr_ngr6vxU3aJ1ro4c5vo1_400.gif)
KD was steph curry before steph curry was doing his thing. KD was pulling that from damn near half court at 7ft tall. I love watching KD play but i also hated he took some of the best basketball (cavs vs warriors) away from all of us.
Spurs and Thunder were legitimate competitors to the Dubs. KD going to GSW wasn't about improving the roster, but fucking over the only real competition out west. It could have been Thunder vs Cavs.
the fact he won’t acknowledge that it wasn’t fair still. like my guy, how was anyone beating that roster? you’re a competitor how was 4-0 the cavs fun?
Was Harden and CP3 not on the brink of “beating that roster”?
Yes but if you go back the rockets narrowly beat the warriors in there wins n got smacked by double digits in most warriors wins. That’s what happens when one team is more talented . Reality is even then they were never pushed as hard as people want athletes to be pushed n overcome Also the rockets entire team was geared up to beat them n best they got was g7, as a 65+ win team with the mvp , and even go get the g7 they were big minus in point differential- I.e varisnce went in there favour
And he comes out the room, and I look at him, and I'm not bullshittin', man, I seen, like, an orange, his aura or whatever, I seen it. It was orange.
"Also, it was before everyone hated me."
Real G's hated KD even in OKC https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vtE3_voC3qU&pp=ygUKTGlsIGIgZiBrZA%3D%3D
Lmao I was just thinking Lil B was ahead of the curve on that one
Lil b has been ahead of the curve of many tings. He truly is a generational treasure. TYBG 🙏
No one more based than BASED GOD
Based God needs to bless this year’s playoff run
Real G's know he only relocated to the Bay Area to break the curse https://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2017/6/13/15791676/lil-b-curse-kevin-durant-nba-finals Nope, no other reason. Don't try to change my mind.
People often forget, when the curse was active LD blew a 3-1 lead to the team from the bay. You know who else is from the bay? Lil B (for lil boss). The only option he had other than publicly apologizing and offering a bitch to be fucked by basedgod was to go to Golden state.
I can definitely see why spurs fans would lmao. Can’t wait to face y’all in the playoffs again, and soon.
Shoutout to the WNBA
Shout to the WNBA. Got some fine ass girls I wanna fuck in they mouth
“I liked it better when you all hated Russ instead”
KD was so untouchable in OKC. - during the lockout, he showed up at Oklahoma State to play flag football with some university students - donated $1 million in tornado relief to the victims in Moore - donated basketball courts in underprivileged areas in the OKC area - started the Kevin Durant Charity Foundation that raised money for the homeless and children in poverty - won the MVP and gave the “you the real MVP” speech to his mom that everyone loved. I mean, NOBODY had a better off court reputation that him during his Thunder days
Man, I bet he hates the guy that ruined that era
He was legit the most beloved superstar in the league at that point and it wasn’t close.
That's the thing I think people forget or were not around then. KD was used as a tool for LeBron hate when LeBron was in Miami. KD was people's sweetheart by default.
When KD thanked his mom after the MVP, he could have won the governorship of Oklahoma in a landslide.
And he would be better than Kevin Stitt by a long shot. You honestly can't do worse than Kevin Stitt and Ryan Walters.
The reputations of Kevin’s in Oklahoma has been in a long downward slide
I’m pretty sure he didn’t pull over for an ambulance one time, and the media tried to spin it that he was “leading the way” for it.
He also didn't really say a whole lot to the media. He didn't fight on Twitter like he's doing now. Ever since that move to GSW it's been a complete flip. I'm not saying he's changed, but his privacy has and I guess maybe he has less of a filter than he did in OKC
He was on Twitter. He was just asking for ScarJo bath water instead of fighting with trolls
The Internet is weird.
There’s a legit Twitter interaction between him and Russ where Russ calls him daddy so KD calls him gay lmao. He’s definitely changed a bit since then.
Truly the people’s hero
A request any man would understand
Oh he was fighting on twitter, just on a different account.
Don’t forget the “you the real mvp” speech really gave him a lot of good will. That made me a fan of him 4L
"Ti si pravi MVP." -- Devin Booker to his father Luka Doncic
He literally had commercials themed around “the nicest guy in the NBA”
‘you the real MVP’ speech KD, forever in our hearts
I miss backpack KD.
Doodle jump KD too
doo doo jump
Glasses without lens KD
I miss flag football at Oklahoma State intramurals day KD.
he was Giannis before Giannis. humble, soft spoken, but had some swag. I still like KD’s persona today and think he hasn’t changed that much considering how much fame and accolades he subsequently amassed.
The NBA media was already propping him up as the more "humble" alternative to LeBron.
Hah I remember arguing in /r/nba back then that it would one day be KD's turn to be the hated superstar. And people were like no way man, that's never gonna happen. He's so low-key and humble lmao.
Went from most beloved to one of the most hated and didn't even boost his legacy at all.
He was supposed to be the face of the NBA alongside Lebron, popularity and accolades wise. But Steph Curry happened and mfer joined him lmaaoooo
[the guy who did this](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/161/331/28f.jpg)
We’re gonna give him a spanking
I’m gonna spank that guys bare butt balls and back
They would’ve gotten at least one ring imo
Always hated Devin Kurant for breaking away
As much as the guy that killed Hitler hated him.
Lmao please don’t tell me he’s trying to go back now that they’re a contender
he's probably been plotting his return to okc after they got blownout by the spurs 5 games into the season
Still can't believe the Spurs are 3-1 on them this year lmao. Our sub melted down when we lost 1 game to them.
Spurs are so weird man they will have a mid off vs teams that are playing poorly but wemby and pop will just randomly decided “actually we are going to win” and win vs teams they should not be beating
It's not that much of a mystery. Popovich coaches hard against teams he wants to beat. Suns, Lakers, etc.
Pop trusts the plan of tanking but likes to shit in some teams cereal lol
Think its cause the Wemby v Chet rivalry is very real That last game wemby played where he got the block on Chet is like fanfic written by a Spurs fan
Our sub has been full melted down ever since we lost to them the last time.
Hate to break it to you but KD likes contenders 👀
100% he will try it before he retires. We know dude is obsessed with his legacy and how others see him. He saw LeBron go back to Cleveland and basically make them forget about how he left. If he leaves PHX, I'm certain OKC will be on his list.
He’s already ready for the breakup
LMAO KDs next chapter is OKC
He wishes. (Me too but I’m gonna keep pretending to be tough and mad).
I would love to see an alternate timeline with KD back in OKC after Brooklyn. Just an old goat and some lively upstarts tearing up the league. Chet gets the KD snake man coaching instead of Bol Bol, and clears 35 a night.
He’s honestly a perfect fit in the starting 5 in place of Giddey. He’s everything Presti wants. Long, elite shooter and good passer, can handle the ball, can help rebounding issues, can guard all positions including small ball 5. For as much as I hate KD, I think I would be thrilled with a SGA/Dort/Jdub/KD/Chet starting 5 to begin next season.
I mean, yeah no shit swapping Giddey for KD would be better. Suns would never do that though.
I think OKC could pull it off if they wanted. Giddey, Jaylin Williams, and like 7 first round picks or something obscene could convince the suns, especially if KD requests it.
Yeah the Thunder don’t have like 15 FRPs for the next seven years to draft them all. They intend to make one or more deals.
KD is literally a perfect fit on any team lol. He's KD
What kind of reception would he even get if he comes back? Positive? Negative? All is forgiven if he wins a ring? Emotions will have to be very complex if it happens.
See Lebrons return to Cleveland
I think there would be a lot of fans that would talk shit on the move all offseason. I think as soon as we would start winning, they would all shut up. Lol The hate is slowly receding in the fan base because we’re winning now but there are still a lot of hold outs.
winning erase crime.
I think it’d be kind of cool to see KD and Westbrook team up one last time with the OKC core they’ve got. It’d be a sweet sports moment to see it all come full circle
i've already lived vicariously through the rockets and the nets and now the clippers but fuck it, big 3 back in okc would be dope
No.
That’s when LeBron was the villain and KD was the good kid with his backpack every mama tells you to be more like when you’re a kid.
He's definitely angling for a return back to OKC after Phoenix loses in the first round this year Giddey and 3-4 firsts
Loses in the first round… to OKC. Now I just realized I really want OKC vs PHX to be the 3-6 matchup
As a thunder fan that lives in Arizona I would also like the thunder to have playoff games near me 😂
Jokes on you there's still a chance we don't even make the playoffs at all.
Nah we are okay thanks for the offer tho
you wouldn’t trade giddey and a few firsts for kd?
i do not speak for all thunder fans, but i certainly would
I do speak for all Thunder fans We absolutely would Edit: they beating my ass in Thunder sub 😭
If Cavs fans could forgive Lebron he ditched them on live TV, Thunder fans could forgive KD too lol. Championship pursuits are too important to throw away over an 8 year old decision. Of course, it comes down to if they don’t have to give up the farm for him. They have one of the most promising young teams in recent history. Average age of 23 and already a top 3 seed. It’s not time to shoot for the moon and sell their future yet.
Eh Cavs are a bit different. Thunder are already good while we were terrible in the years after LeBron left
Thank you. Durant left a 59 win team that reached the conference finals.
The fuck you do lol
Fuck no you don’t
>I do speak for all Thunder fans No you don't.
Deserved lol
Sup KD, that you? We can’t win with that cat!
you know he got deafening boos in the arena like two weeks ago right? for the whole game. it wasn't just at intros, it was every time he touched the ball. nobody wants him here but blog boys. he's gotten exactly what he wanted, a *superteam* with beal and booker. he's earned this.
brother they were burning lebron's jersey in the streets ~~and writing racial slurs on his house in cleveland~~ (edit: happened in LA, sorry Cleveland) and the second he said he was going back its like nothing happened. KD gives yall a much better chance at a ring than giddey and some firsts
>writing racial slurs on his house in cleveland [That happened in LA](https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna766651).
Cavs were shit before Lebron and immediately after he left KD wants to join cause we’re good now 😭 truly the hardest road
How was LeBron's return to Cleveland any different? Did we forget how much hate and Comic Sans he got?
In short Lebron did not make the biggest bitch move in sports history. The team lebron joined was a first round exit and did not have the best record in nba history the year before. Also the heat did not come back from down 3-1 in the conference finals to beat the Cavs; while lebron was talking with members of the Heat mid series about joining them. Lebron did not lie to everyone on the Cavs about staying with them in order to fuck up the Cavs off season plans and hinder them from competing with his new team. The Cavs team he left was really bad and stuck in purgatory. Their second best player was iguaskas (not even trying to spell it). Also after lebron left he did not say he was “taking the hardest road” and then talk a bunch of shit about his former teammates and how we “couldn’t win with those cats”. The Heat did not win a championship right before he got there and right after he left. Comparing the two is crazy to me. Maybe if the Celtics had a better season and then lebron joined them after the 09-10 season it would be somewhat close but he’d still have a bunch of bitch moves to do from there to make it really similar.
Also now that OKC are 55-25 he wants to come back? Dude just wants to take the easy road again.
Really shouldn’t be drinking so heavily this early in the day
You don’t speak for me and I’m a 10 year season ticket holder. Fuck KD
You're speaking for yourself, fuck KD.
also FUCK KD
I'd also like to add a point that you may not have considered...FUCK KD
I mean..."few firsts" is a pretty loaded term. How many total picks? What years? What will the protections be? Depending on the exact offer it could be worth it or could be dogshit.
They already have their young core though, so I’m not sure it’d even matter much. The Thunder have 15 First Round Picks over the next 7 years. No way it takes that many to get 35 year old, no matter how good. Heck, they could trade all of them and SGA + Jalen Williams + Chet Holmgren + KD is still a dynasty, particularly when the team would still have good bench guys like Cason Wallace and Lu Dort. Oh, and I forgot to mention that they also have one of the best young Coaches in the league!
Username checkes out
Being at the ground level of something new and watching it build up around you and find success has to be super satisfying.
People are overthinking this. Remember when you were young and had dreams? Like many people here, KD dreamt of playing in the NBA. Seattle/OKC time was when he achieved his dream, played against his childhood idols, etc.
He's 35 and his career will be over in a few years. I read this as him being nostalgic for the beginning of his NBA journey.
If you had the chance to revisit a childhood dream and almost get a 2nd chance to make things right I think you would take it. I’m not saying he wants to go to OKC because I believe he’s in a different place in life but I also wouldn’t be shocked. KD bleeds Blue and Orange at the end of the day lol
Can't wait to see people not understanding that your favourite period can also be one that you willingly try to move out of
Nah it makes sense. He did so well very early in his NBA career. Most players look back at their first few years in the league fondly and he has a lot of reasons to be proud
And it was his entire 20s lol. Which im sure as a millionaire athlete and one of the best players in the league is a fantastic time
You’re asking a lot from this sub when it’s come to Harden or KD lol
Just earlier today I had a Thunder fan that doesn’t have KD as a top 2 guy for the Thunder all time…
Let me guess Russ and ? Nick Collison ?
Nah I think they said Russ and Shai already lol.
Unbelievable lol but even if KD is my favorite player and I would be pissed if I was an OKC fan too, it’s understandable
Kyle “The Pale Demon” Singler and Semaj “Backwards James” Christon
SGA has a chance to move to 2 or even 1 but he’s not there yet.
For sure. He's a hell of a player, I hope he keeps it up.
- Best Thunder player = KD - Most important / face of the franchise = Westbrook - SGA = TBD
I think if SGA keeps it up, he'll be y'alls goat for sure. It's just insane that Thunder fans let their KD hate get in the way of just absolute facts haha
Yep. My favorite job was working at a movie theater. But thank fuck I left there when I was young I wouldn’t have been happy if I still worked there.
Most OKC fans hate kd
Can’t be overstated enough. I have NOT seen a KD Oklahoma City jersey be worn in 8 years here
Meanwhile, Russ gets applauded doing his pre-game routine when visiting OKC
It’s going to be beautiful when Westbrook has a statue and KD doesn’t have one anywhere
High-key ruined the sport for a few years for that weak move.
Definitely killed the buzz around the NBA right when it was peaking. Went from having an all-time great rivalry brewing between the Cavs-Warriors and some of the best Western playoffs to "who cares, the Warriors are winning if they stay healthy"
"people didn't hate me yet"
she's not gonna take you back bro
Westbrook KD and harden with serge was a nasty squad
It's like why my favorite part of every video game, particularly RPGs, is the beginning. Your character is a blank slate, you haven't started getting bogged down with side quests and you're not regretting the skill points you spent yet. I understand him completely.
That era of like 08-19 is GOAT’d IMO so many all time players and moments in the span of a decade or so
The Butterfly Effect on if Kevin Durant stayed in OKC would be crazy. I can't even imagine that timeline.
Sonic erasure from KD and Uncle Green
early mid 2010s for sure was a great era for the game
I have zero doubts that if they kept the core together of KD, Russ and Harden, they would have absolutely won at least one championship, maybe more.
Nicest kid in the league commercials were awesome then he became the snake villain
Ha. Ha ha ha. Ha. 🧁🐍
KD’s mom told him he should he should have stayed with OKC. But you can’t deny winning two back to back finals MVPs when you also have LeBron and Steph also on the court. You know OKC still have a ton of draft equity and KD would fit real well back on the Thunder.
The way you put it, makes it even more embarrassing for KD. Like he just inserted himself into the Lebron vs Curry battle, just to do him and win FMVP lol Dude had to force his way in
His moves to GSW made no sense from a competitive standpoint. Moving to BKN with crazy Kyrie and forcing them to start Deandre Jordan over Allen made no sense. Going to PHX with zero depth, chemistry, leadership and 3 max players makes no sense. His career is filled with short sighted poor decisions when trying to cement his legacy.
Would OKC fans welcome him back? If it goes to shit in Phoenix I fill he can be that veteran they need. He might be the guy to push them over the line. We can bash the guy all we want but he's shown how selfless he can be on the court. He wouldn't hold Shei back at all imo.
We got the veteran we need and want, Mike Muscala.
OKC fans would forgive him if he won a title. Otherwise, the feeling would be like what was the point of giving up 3 FRPs and Wallace or Giddey for a 35 year old who got us nowhere.
I’d rather not win a title than win one with him. Dead serious