The Fourth of July is more than just hot dogs and fireworks in OKC. It also serves as a harsh anniversary for the first true heartbreak Oklahoma City Thunder fans experienced.
This year’s summer holiday is the eighth anniversary of Kevin Durant’s departure from the Thunder to the heated-rivals Golden State Warriors.
Roughly a month after the Warriors served a dagger at Thunder fans’ hearts with a 3-1 comeback in the Western Conference Finals, they also stole away their franchise icon.
The move had so-so long-term results for Durant. Sure, he immediately won a pair of championships with the Warriors, but that likely didn’t have the results he’d hoped it had on his perception.
He’s been a wonderless legend since. He joined the Brooklyn Nets and that was an epic failure. His time with the Phoenix Suns is well on its way to a similar result.
Nonetheless, his decision to leave left the Thunder in disarray for the rest of the offseason.
Durant’s exit torpedoed the Thunder’s contending window, much to their resistance. They tried for a few years with Russell Westbrook but never reached the heights the average KD squad did.
They enjoyed some competitive seasons in the aftermath but the seven-footer’s shadow hovered over Paycom Center for years.
They only truly escaped it this past season when the Thunder won their first playoff series since 2016 — Durant’s final season in OKC.
As the Thunder are in the infancy stages of another lengthy contention window manned by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams, enough time has passed to avoid any hard feelings to cloud their judgment from the previous iteration.
Recent years have seen Durant somewhat reconcile with the Thunder. He’s spoken fondly of his time in OKC. The 35-year-old has had countless instances of being complimentary of what they’ve built.
It appears the fences have been mended a bit between the two parties. That might be a bridge too far for some Thunder fans, but that doesn’t mean there can’t be a happy compromise of their thoughts on his tenure in OKC.
The reactions from Thunder fans in 2016 were extreme. But who’s to blame them? It was the first cold reminder that showed professional leagues operate much differently than college sports.
The passionate Oklahoma and Oklahoma State fans quickly realized the clock is always ticking for NBA superstars — even in the background. There’s no guarantee a player will wait it out with a single franchise. In fact — it’s the complete opposite more times than not. Rarely do superstars the caliber of Durant stay for one franchise their entire career.
Alas, such is life in the NBA.
Hopefully, Thunder fans understand that now as they’ve been part of the league for nearly two decades. They’ve had a chance to see a couple of cycles of what an NBA franchise usually undergoes. They build up talent, keep them for the length of two deals, risk the possibility of them leaving for greener pastures and then possibly start over from scratch if needed.
It’s the natural life cycle of a core — especially in a small market. There’s nothing wrong with Thunder fans holding bitter feelings toward Durant for his departure and how he handled it. But it’s reasonable to expect they should now know that it’s part of being in this business.
If anything, the Thunder lucked out with Durant playing out his first nine seasons with them. He could’ve easily demanded out at any point during his tenure and there wouldn’t have been much OKC could’ve done to prevent his inevitable exit.
Instead, Durant battled it out with OKC for six playoff runs that enjoyed the type of success only a few franchises had during the 2010s. Sure, they ultimately fell short of the ultimate goal of a championship, but four Western Conference Finals and one NBA Finals trip is nothing to sneeze at.
Most NBA franchises would give up 10-plus years of draft picks to get a taste of that success. He wasn’t solely responsible for it, but Durant was the biggest reason for the Thunder putting OKC on the map on a national stage.
A nasty divorce shouldn’t erase nine years of a successful marriage. The Thunder quickly ascended into one of the best teams in the league and Durant blossomed into one of the best players of all time.
The accolades speak for themselves. Durant won the 2014 MVP award, four scoring titles and seven All-Star berths donning the Thunder’s white and blue uniform. OKC had the second-most wins of the 2010s largely because of the future Hall-of-Famer.
Fans might not like to read this, but the success and accolades are too loud to ignore. The Thunder should retire Durant’s No. 35 jersey and it really shouldn’t be a debate.
He’s one of the best all-time players who spent his best years in OKC. He’s scored the eighth-most points ever and 60.7% of those came with the Thunder. It’d be basketball malpractice to not see Durant’s jersey hang from the rafters of OKC’s new arena when it opens in the 2030s.
On the eighth anniversary of Durant’s departure, enough time has passed for Thunder fans to acknowledge how successful his time was in OKC. They don’t necessarily need to forgive or move on. Heck, they can still boo him in OKC until he retires.
But when it comes to sitting down and seriously discussing if the Thunder should retire Durant’s number, it should be a yes — even if it means gritting your teeth through answering the question.
