Kevin Durant finally a champ, and the Finals MVP.
The first person to hug Kevin Durant was LeBron James, who held him in place on the court and whispered in his ear.
Next was the woman who found Durant in the middle of the scrum, as the court flooded with family and cameras and friends and the rich and famous. Durant picked up his mother, Wanda, in a bear hug. He once had called her “the real MVP.”
But late Monday night, it became quite apparent who the real MVP was. The MVP of the 2017 NBA Finals. A champion. The best player. Kevin Durant. “With 55 seconds left, I went over the halfcourt line and I bent down and I’m like, ‘Is this really happening?’ ” Durant said. His teammates told him to keep playing to the end. “I’m like, ‘Bro, we’re about to win the title.’ ”
The man who was vilified for doing what he had every right to do — choose his workplace in joining the Warriors as a free agent last summer, fleeing Oklahoma City — was giddy late Monday night. He hugged his Bill Russell Trophy, he smelled of Champagne, he admitted he might celebrate much of the summer.
Durant had all the spotlight and all the pressure in this series to prove he had made the
right decision. And he delivered. He was the best player on the court in the NBA Finals — sorry, James acolytes — leading his team to four wins in five tries.
“I don’t give credence to the naysayers,” said Wanda Durant, who couldn’t stop hugging and kissing her “baby.”
“This is about the hard work my son continued to put in. It was worth it because he was sure in himself to make the decision that was best for him. We all have choices.”
The third person Durant found and hugged was Stephen Curry. The player whose feelings and pride he was most concerned about when he joined the Warriors.
“Steph played like a big dog,” Durant said. “We’ve grown closer and closer as the year has gone on. … We’re always encouraging each other. One thing that was a constant was the joy of basketball. He’s our leader.”
Durant was clearly the leading MVP candidate, after the go-ahead three in Game 3, the 35.2 points-per-game average. Durant had a 39-point effort in the clinching Game 5: five three-pointers, perfect from the line, five assists and seven rebounds.
And in the final eight-plus minutes, he clinched his MVP playing on the floor as part of the so-called Hamptons 5. Durant and the four players who flew to New York in July to recruit him closed out the game together. It was a fitting way to win a championship.
“I found it at the beginning of the year,” Durant said, when asked about his satisfaction in his decision. “The camaraderie, the togetherness of the whole organization. We just kept building from Day 1. So a championship is just the cherry on top.”
Early in the game, Durant looked nervous. As if he could feel the moment.
“For two days, I was anxious,” Durant said. “I was jittery. I just wanted to lay it all out there.”
He had three bad turnovers that led to Cleveland points. But as the Warriors got settled and started to remember who they are and how they won — defense and ball movement — Durant settled into a rhythm, draining threes, finding the open teammate.
As the second half progressed, he really started to feel it. A little fist pump and hop after a three that gave the Warriors a seven-point lead. High-fiving Shaun Livingston on the bench after a stop. High-fiving Curry at midcourt. And then skipping down the court while his teammates reminded him there were still 50 seconds to play.
Durant lost to James in his first trip to the Finals, with the Thunder in 2012. When his vanquished rival hugged him, Durant said, “Now we’re tied up. We’ll try to do this again.”
It was all about respect. When asked how it felt to slay James, Durant laughed.
“The man averaged a triple-double,” he said. “I didn’t do enough slaying.” He did enough. He’s a champion. “Everybody for the last 10 years knew how good he was,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “But until you break through and win that first championship, there’s always still something there. … I’m just so happy Kevin has broken through.” So was the MVP. “I heard all the narrative, that I was hopping on bandwagons,” Durant said. “But that was far from the truth. I came in and tried to help my team, be myself.
“I’m talking too much,” he added. “I had a couple too many beers. … It feels great.”
If there was a man who deserved to celebrate, it was Durant. The real MVP.