Jan 31, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) smiles as he leaves the court after defeating the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Kevin Durant Still Stands by Nets over Knicks Following Trade

Originally posted on New York Knicks on SI
By Henry Brown | Last updated Jun 23, 2025 3:00 PM ET

Kevin Durant has had a turbulent first half of the 2020s. Sunday morning's blockbuster trade announcement that he's yet again on the move in a trade, this time traveling from the Phoenix Suns to the Houston Rockets.

This marks the fifth team that Durant has played for, and the third this decade since he departed the Golden State Warriors for the Brooklyn Nets in searching for some some glory of his own. Still, after another instance in which he and the New York Knicks fail to align, he remains loyal to one of his old teams.

The 15x All-Star scorer was onstage at a live event when the trade was announced by ESPN's Shams Charania, ending a several weeks-long standoff between Durant suiters looking to offload the aging forward from the dead-end Suns.

The crowd sitting in front of Durant during his time in onstage went into a frenzy following the news, with one member of the crowd yelling "KD, you wish you joined the Knicks!," a claim he quickly refuted.

Knicks fan yells “KD you wish you joined the Knicks!”

KD: “No I don’t… I’m a Net for life baby”#Fanaticsfest pic.twitter.com/8X9B16Ctvh
— Knicks Film School (@KnickFilmSkool) June 22, 2025

He's maintained his allegiance with the Nets ever since leaving Brooklyn three years ago, a team he's always claimed fits with him spiritually. They also gave him the best shot at winning a title since he left the Warriors, as he spearheaded a classic seven-game series against the eventual-champion Milwaukee Bucks in 2021 that put him within a literal toe of potentially winning it all with Kyrie Irving and James Harden by his side.

Compare that nostalgia with how Durant regarded Phoenix fans mere minutes after the deal was announced, having long accepted that his presence with the Suns was no longer desired.

He famously chose the Nets over the Knicks when both teams were fully pressing for his services in the summer of 2019, and New York was once again thrust into the KD sweepstakes amidst their offseason of dramatic change. While it was widely reported that the Knicks were disinterested in bringing the aging scorer aboard, Durant seems like part of his heart will always reside with their crosstown rival.

This article first appeared on New York Knicks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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