Did Kevin Durant go too far with his hat?

Kevin Durant, the Golden State Warriors’ superstar and 2017 Finals MVP, took a shot at the Oklahoma City Thunder with a cupcake hat.

Kevin Durant is enjoying this offseason like he never has before. And well, that’s because that’s partly true. He’s never gone into a summer after winning an NBA championship.

Durant made the most controversial decision in NBA history. He decided to leave his Oklahoma City Thunder and joined the 73-win Golden State Warriors team that defeated him in the Western Conference Finals in an intense seven game matchup. He was dragged for it.

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The situation became bigger than basketball for some. Professionals tried to argue that his personal life and relationships were somehow a reflection and foreshadowing of his decision to play basketball somewhere else. The people that loved him for nearly a decade showed that their love was truly unconditional.

In a matter of seconds, Durant was no longer the best player in franchise history. He was a traitor (or a trader, depending on how angry you are). He was a snake and soft. He was a villain.

This intensified what some already considered to be a rivalry between Durant and Russell Westbrook. There was always a power struggle between the two. Now, Durant’s decision to join Stephen Curry really made things interesting.

After Durant’s Independence Day announcement, Westbrook posted a seemingly innocuous picture of a festive cupcake tower. It then became clear that it wasn’t just a holiday post–it was a shot at Durant. Westbrook and his former MVP teammate used to call players they deemed to be soft “cupcakes.”

For a year, Durant had to deal with some really volatile stuff from OKC media, fans, and players. His mother was harassed. His legacy as a basketball player and integrity as a human was attacked.

So for a year, Durant was called cupcake. The fans that used to love him dressed up in costumes and hurled insults in his direction. They tried to argue that he was just there for the ride.

Fast forward a few months and Kevin Durant is an NBA champion for the first time in his career. He won Finals MVP because he outplayed LeBron James. He epitomized greatness.

So, all of the doubters who said it wouldn’t work, were wrong. He won a title. The people that said he would choke in the Finals and disrupt what Golden State would do were wrong.

But there was still the issue of his image. They still called him soft, a snake, and, yes, a cupcake. So Durant fired back. At JaVale McGee’s charity softball game, Durant was seen wearing a very interesting piece of headwear.

Durant wore a khaki hat with a cupcake on it. The cupcake had a red bottom and a white top. And, instead of the cherry on top, Durant opted to put a ring on the top of the cupcake.

https://twitter.com/juliephayer/status/878719398000730112

Some on Twitter complained that he was throwing shade at the Thunder for no reason. That, as a champion, he should be above that. That any trash talk should be directed at the Cleveland Cavaliers because that’s the team they played in the Finals and the team Golden State has been going back and forth with for a few years now.

So did Durant go too far? Was his hat too much? Did he needlessly take a shot at his former team and teammates?

No. Absolutely not. In fact, he should have done this earlier.

Durant has no problem with Cleveland. He’s new to the rivalry. All of James’ antics last year had nothing to do with him. His main gripe is with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

While the argument that Durant is picking on a target that has nothing to do with him anymore is valid, he also had every right to take that shot at them. After all they did to try to tear him down as a basketball player and as a man, he should be making fun of them. Why not?

They insulted his mother. They called him “Mr. Unreliable” when he was there. They have tried to re-write history as if he was always the problem and the one holding their inefficient star back.

Durant did not go too far with his hat. It was hilarious. Most importantly, it was the finishing blow to one of the wackiest player-fan base rivalries in basketball.

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Stephen Curry and Draymond Green wore some of the cupcake shirts that Thunder fans wore when Golden State played in the Chesapeake Energy Arena. And, while that was funny, it needed to be Durant delivering the last blow. He’s ended it.

Because if the Thunder want to bring back the cupcake theme for next season when they play the Warriors, they’ll remember that this cupcake has something they don’t: a ring.