Durant: 'I made the 100 percent correct decision' signing with Warriors
Kevin Durant's 2015-16 season ended one win shy of the NBA Finals, and a year later, he's back in that same spot - albeit under different, arguably more favorable circumstances.
Durant is a Golden State Warrior now, flanked by three other All-Stars rather than just the one he ran with in Oklahoma City. Where his Thunder were looking to pull off an upset for the ages over the Warriors last year, the former rival he joined is now bulldozing its way toward the Finals with an 11-0 record and 16.5-point average margin of victory in the postseason.
Durant took a ton of flak for jumping off the Thunder ship last summer and climbing aboard the 73-win Warriors destroyer, but he says he has zero regrets, and won't have any regardless of whether the Warriors win the title. At the time, he wrote that the goal of his career-defining decision was to "find an opportunity that encourages my evolution as a man," and move to "a new city and community which offers the greatest potential for my contribution and personal growth."
He seems to have found what he was looking for.
"I made the 100 percent correct decision, win or lose," Durant told The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears on Sunday. "I feel like this is the place I was supposed to be. I appreciate everything I've done before this. But I'm here now, and I feel like it's a great spot for me to be.
"This is where I am supposed to be at this point of my life. I'm taking it on and conquering every part of it. I'm enjoying every single step."
Durant has, naturally, had to tune out a lot of negative noise about his decision, the impact it's had on both the team and community he left behind, and the competitive balance of the league.
"Somebody is always going to disagree," he said. "Somebody is always going to discredit. It's just a part of life. When you want to do it for each other and for friends and family, that's when it's purer than anything."
The All-NBA forward was asked what, specifically, he's found so intoxicating about the Warriors culture. Bottom line: Fun.
"It's just basketball," he said. "You have people here who realize that the most important thing is it's a game. You have fun. But you also should be passionate and dedicated. That is what everybody’s vision is. We know how important it is to everybody else. It's not that serious.
"There is fine line between being passionate, taking it serious and being too serious. We kind of tiptoe that line a little bit more so on the not-so-serious side. I think that's what makes it fun and makes you have a good time."