Texas longhorn legend Kevin Durant ruptured his Achilles during game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals Monday. Say what you may about KD, but he knew the odds of injuring himself after only sitting out 9 games suffering a calf injury earlier in the playoffs. He’s been wanting to play so bad, he felt it was worth risking whatever he could give to help his struggling teammates. Most comments I saw were trying to clown him, even saying he was going to be the next Derrick Rose. I see a different picture.
Durant has always been a team player. From his time at The University of Texas at Austin, to his short run with the Seattle Supersonics, who then moved to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder, KD has always played with heart. He wasn’t even labeled a villain until he wanted out of OKC and joined the rival Western Conference champs, the Golden State Warriors. The team, most said he joined because he couldn’t beat them. Say what you will, but the NBA is a business strategy.
One can stay faithful to a team that never will succeed, but what does that mean for someone who wants something more from their legacy. NBA players don’t have control over who gets drafted, who the general manager, or head coaches will be, but they can control their destiny to some degree when it comes to leaving and joining teams. KD knew the talent Golden State had already, and he knew they were shaping into becoming a dynasty. He wanted to be a part of that and lament his own fingerprint to be another special piece for them. Everyone already knew there was tension with Russell Westbrook in OKC.
Although Westbrook does play both sides of the ball very well at times, for me, he can be seen as an extreme ball hog, which shows in some of his games when he’s averaging 50 attempts. KD gave his all at OKC for many years, and wanted nothing more than to be a part of something special. Heck, Lebron started this trend as we all know. So, I want to wish him well and speedy recovery, though he may be wearing yet another jersey in the near future..
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