It has been almost 10 years since Kevin Durant surprised the league with a decision to join the Golden State Warriors in free agency.
The Warriors just fell short after months in the 2016 Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had LeBron James at its peak with Kyrie Irving.
It was an unprecedented cap spike that enabled Golden State to add Durant to the championship core and helped them bounce back the Cavaliers in 2017 and 2018.
Durant has been leading the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference, but he has often fallen short of winning a title, losing to the Miami Heat in the Finals and to the 2016 Warriors in the West Finals.
The decision remained one of the most significant turning points in NBA history, as he quickly earned two straight titles just after the controversial signing.
The former MVP viewed Golden State as underdogs, especially when it comes to post season, where he felt it needed a superstar like him.
“They never been a winning organization. When I was in the league, nobody liked Golden State. It felt like still an underdog to me. I’m looking at the totality of the franchise, not what happened the last five years. You never been a perennial winner in the NBA from the 50s on up, I’m like, ‘Damn, this an underdog franchise. This feel good. Like s**t, this feel like where I’m supposed to be. It ain’t LA, it ain’t New York,” Durant said in an appearance on Barstool Sports.
Golden State won its first title back in 2015, and Stephen Curry earned the back-to-back MVP, while also earning the unanimous award in 2016. They also had the best record in NBA history of 73-9 wins and losses.
Durant averaged 25.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 5.4 assists in 208 games for the Warriors in his career.
