Re-visiting Kevin Durant’s first shot as a Warrior for Team USA at Oracle
Kevin Durant hit an amazing deep three-pointer in his first game at Oracle Arena since announcing his decision to join the Golden State Warriors.
One year ago today, on July 4th, Kevin Durant made the most mind-blowing decision in NBA history. He announced, via the Player’s Tribune, that he would be joining the Golden State Warriors. It was his Independence Day from Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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After putting pen to paper and officially signing with the Warriors days later, Durant got back to work. He joined Team USA as they started to prepare for the Olympics. After the team was finalized, they played some tune-up games in the United States before flying out to Brazil.
The Americans made a stop in Oakland, California. It was the first (of many) times that Durant would start alongside Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. It made Durant’s decision a little more real.
With the first possession of the game, the 2014 MVP did this:
It’s not a bad way to make an impression on your new fan base. About two months earlier, Durant dominated his future teammates on that court. He was absolutely spectacular as the Thunder won three of the first four games in the Western Conference Finals.
That three-pointer was awesome. It was as American as a bald eagle. Or a cupcake.
There was a fantastic buzz in the arena. The crowd roared when he was announced during the opening lineups. Then he brought everyone to their feet with that deep contested three-pointer that he willed in.
Durant did this with two of his Super Death Lineup-mates on the court in blue USA jerseys with him. The other two? Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala were in the building watching as the new-look Warriors started to build chemistry.
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Durant would go on and win the Gold Medal. He would cement himself as one of the greatest basketball players to don the red, white, and blue. But that was just the beginning for him.
Nearly one year later, he would celebrate his first championship with his new teammates. It wouldn’t be the best three-pointer he would hit as a member of the Warriors, but it was the first one. And it was spectacular.