The relationship between Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder has been wobbly at best since his shocking departure in 2016. But it looks like time might be healing that deep wound.
In an interview with Boardroom, Durant opened up about his relationship with the Thunder and has started to look back at his nine-year tenure fondly. In OKC, he blossomed into one of the best players of his generation and was a constant title threat. He also won his sole MVP with the Thunder in 2014.
Even though they didn’t ultimately win a championship, Durant still thinks his iteration of the Thunder did plenty of good work for both the franchise and the city.
“When I first got there, it was like one skyscraper building, not many hotels. It wasn’t much going on downtown,” Durant said. “It was just a raw city that hasn’t been exposed to the rest of the country.
“Now, you go there, they have resort hotels, they got multiple skyscraper buildings, building towards eventually having an All-Star Game there, which does so much for a city.
“So I look at my time at OKC from that perspective because we helped build a city up more so than just a fanbase for basketball.”
Durant also said that his relationships with people within the Thunder have improved and that he thinks the fans can one day appreciate what he did in his time there.
“Even though it was rough for me with the fanbase and some of the people that worked in the organization for a year or two,” Durant said. “…When I started to reflect on it, it was special what we did — regardless of championships or not.”
Enough time has passed — nearly a decade — for both parties to reminisce on their time together. The feeling of betrayal by Thunder fans will likely never fade away, but that shouldn’t stop them from appreciating what Durant did during his time in OKC.
