Kevin Durant could have been the Seattle SuperSonics’ version of Kobe Bryant if the franchise had stayed, says new claim

Talk of a Thunder reunion has cropped up now and then, but Bill Simmons recently offered a different take, pondering how Durant’s career might have unfolded under different circumstances.

Bill Simmons makes ‘most devastating’ Seattle Supersonics-Kevin Durant point

Durant became a superstar in Oklahoma City, but it’s worth remembering he was originally drafted by the Seattle Supersonics.

Simmons touched on what Seattle lost, not just in terms of basketball but also in terms of what Durant might have become for the city.

“I was starting to wonder about them in the context historically of most devastating franchise relocations ever,” Simmons said on his podcast. “Because Seattle doesn’t just lose professional basketball starting in 2008 going forward. They also lose Durant.”

Simmons went further, suggesting that if the Supersonics had never moved, the team might have grown into a powerhouse – much like the Warriors did in Silicon Valley.

“This is a completely different Kevin Durant conversation. If they just stay in Seattle, they’re going to have a lot of money.”

He drew a parallel to Golden State, saying, “Seattle is, I think, very similar to Silicon Valley, like how the Warriors became the superpower.”

Kevin Durant could have been Seattle Supersonics’ Kobe Bryant

When the discussion turns to loyalty, it’s hard to look past Kobe Bryant, who spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Simmons thinks that in an alternate timeline, Durant could have played a similar role in Seattle.

“They could’ve built it. I just don’t think Durant ever leaves. I think he’s in Seattle for life. I think he’s still there. I think he’s like Kobe on the Lakers for Seattle. I really do. I don’t think he ever leaves,” Simmons said.

He even speculated that Russell Westbrook might have stayed alongside Durant if the team had remained in Seattle.

“I think unless him and Westbrook grew up, that would’ve been the only way that that blows up,” Simmons concluded.