Kevin Durant earned a lot of hate and criticism after signing with the Golden State Warriors in the summer of 2016. After spending nine years with the Oklahoma City Thunder -making one trip to the NBA Finals in 2012-, Durant was tired of not finding the same success he had during that magical season.
He joined a team with three stars, raising a lot of eyebrows around the league. The Warriors went to three straight NBA Finals with KD on the roster, making it five total. They already were a dangerous team in the association, but the 2014 NBA MVP believed he needed to go to the Bay to help those 'underdogs.'
Talking on "Million Dollaz Worth," the 2x NBA champion made a controversial claim, saying he perceived the Dubs as underdogs. This was a key reason to go there and join forces with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green (27:15).
“They’ve never been a winning organization when I was in the league. Nobody liked Golden State. It still felt like an underdog. Because I’m looking at the totality of the franchise… not the last five years. Never been a perennial winner from the 50s. So I’m like, damn, this is an underdog franchise. This feels good, this feels where I’m supposed to be.”
Well, it's hard to agree with KD on this one. The Warriors were a 73-9 team the prior season; they had won the NBA championship in 2015, so they were anything but an underdog.
Still, that move paid off, and he became a champion, winning two Finals MVP in the process. Nevertheless, this remains one of the most controversial free agency moves in NBA history. Even after five years, people are still talking about Durant's decision to join the team that had previously beaten him.
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