Golden State Warriors: Kevin Durant always felt out of place

Kevin Durant has stated that he always felt a disconnect between him and the Golden State Warriors.

Kevin Durant joined the Golden State Warriors knowing full well that his reputation would be damaged. He had seen the backlash LeBron James received earlier in the decade for leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers and understood that the Oklahoma City Thunder fans would give him similar treatment.

Regardless, Durant elected to join the Warriors. In pursuit of basketball happiness, Durant became the best player on a team that had just won an NBA record 73 games in the year prior. For three seasons, the Dubs dominated with KD’s presence.

Cruising to a championship in the 2017 season, the Warriors lost just one game en route to a title. In the next season, they swept the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals to deliver on back-to-back championships. Durant was crowned the Finals MVP both times.

Now, after he has made the decision to leave the franchise in favor of joining the Brooklyn Nets, Durant has stated that he always felt like an outsider in Golden State. In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, KD spoke on his time with the Warriors:

"“As time went on, I started to realize I’m just different from the rest of the guys. It’s not a bad thing. Just my circumstances and how I came up in the league”"

Essentially, Durant felt as if the Warriors had already established themselves and he was jumping on the bandwagon. Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson were drafted by the Warriors and fan favorites. Those three grew together in Golden State. In contrast, Durant built himself in his own way.

As Durant states himself, this isn’t a bad thing. There is no animosity between KD and the Warriors. He spent three successful seasons here and has no regrets. As for his other former team, Durant expresses his discontent with how the fans have reacted to his departure.

Durant told WSJ that he has no trust with anyone from the Thunder franchise and will never feel connected to the city again. He cites a fan-created video in which his jersey was shot multiple times and claims that this is evidence the fanbase never truly loved him.

Luckily, the Dubs fan base refrained from doing anything as drastic as this following Durant’s decision. It’s clear that KD has made the correct move for himself and is set for more greatness in Brooklyn.