In this modern NBA era, gone are the days of Karl Malone and other great players who remain on one team without winning championships. The shift began prior to, but was perfected when LeBron James left Cleveland for Miami. Now, every superstar could ditch their team.
Kevin Durant is a special case, however, as he is Oklahoma City NBA basketball. Ironically, the Thunder were not the first NBA franchise to set up camp in Oklahoma City. From 2005-2007, the New Orleans Pelicans (Hornets) played there.
The Seattle SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008, becoming the Thunder. Essentially a brand new franchise, Kevin Durant has set every Oklahoma City Thunder (and OKC NBA history) record. This season, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook led the Thunder to their fourth-ever Conference Finals appearance, and fourth in five years.
Back in 2012, Kevin Durant led the Thunder to their first-ever NBA Finals appearance and they became the most-popular franchise in the league. But, the five game loss to the LeBron-led Heat was a part of a narrative that has become synonymous in OKC Thunder history. Much like Malone’s Jazz, the Thunder come up short every year and this year hurt a little more than the others, even 2012.
Following an injury-plagued, disappointing 44-38 season in 2015, which saw the Thunder miss the playoffs for just the second time in their history, the team bounced back strongly. The Thunder, while not competing on the same level as Steph Curry and the Warriors and the San Antonio Spurs, did well. Still, because of the Spurs and Warriors, most teams expected them to lose in the second round.
However, when the Thunder, who have dealt with rumors of Kevin Durant leaving in free agency for the past two years, hit the playoffs, they were full of surprises. No prisoner to their regular season record or the season series record, the Thunder fought off a pesky Dallas Mavericks squad in the first round, before stunning the Spurs in their historic season by downing them in six games. After four games, it looked as if they’d to Golden State the same way.
What was overlooked was how determined Steph Curry was, even when injured. Together with Klay Thompson and also Draymond Green, they took the series back and are playing for their second straight championship. While they won the series against OKC, the argument can be made that the Thunder lost the series just as much as the Warriors won it.
Regardless, for Kevin Durant, this is yet another disappointing finish, which has been the case since their 2012 Finals loss. In 2013, injuries cost them their second round matchup against Memphis, despite being the first seed and the following year saw the Spurs avenge their 2012 upset loss to the Thunder. Of course, 2015 ended with no playoff appearance, whatsoever.
Earlier this postseason, Magic Johnson spoke on the Lakers following Kobe Bryant’s departure. He let it slip that they could add Kevin Durant to their roster, but backtracked on the statement. Definitely, the Lakers are going to pursue Durant, along with many other teams and he could indeed leave the team, which has a lot of OKC fans nervous for the future.
So, back to the question, has Kevin Durant played his last game for the Oklahoma City Thunder?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzwb1vqnUQQ
