Nursing an ankle injury — and perhaps a grudge — Durant hopes to play
NEW YORK — Long before he rocked the NBA by leaving Oklahoma City for Golden State, Kevin Durant was a gangly preteen in Prince George’s County, Md.
His long limbs made him feel awkward. As Durant’s family bounced between apartment complexes outside Washington, D.C., he struggled to fit in with his peers. It was only on the basketball court that Durant could calm his racing mind.
“I’m at peace when I play the game of basketball,” said Durant.
After going through a light practice Tuesday with no problems, Durant — listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game in Oklahoma City with a sprained ankle — is optimistic that he’ll be able play just his second game as a visitor in the place he once thought he’d call home for the rest of his career.
Sixteen months removed from informing
longtime Oklahoma City running mate Russell Westbrook in a text message of his decision to sign with the Warriors, Durant is a defending NBA champion.
The reigning Finals MVP is shooting 53.3 percent from the field, 42.2 percent from threepoint range and 86.5 percent from the foul line — striking distance of his second foray into the ultra-exclusive 50-4090 club. Long considered one of the best scorers in NBA history, Durant is making a case for his first All-Defensive Team selection. His 2.2 blocks per game are second only to Utah center Rudy Gobert.
“He just does things so naturally,” guard Klay Thompson said. “He already did before, but now he knows what to do, where to get his shots in the offense. It’s like second nature for him.”
Away from the court, Durant is embracing life in the Bay Area. Some of Silicon Valley’s biggest CEOs dot his contacts list. In addition to being a mainstay with the Warriors’ voluntary charity events, Durant has built a relationship with the Oakland Elizabeth House, which helps mothers who have dealt with homelessness or domestic violence.
But as much as he thrives with Golden State, Durant still doesn’t appear over his splintered bond with his former franchise. A player who repeatedly bemoaned the near-ceaseless backlash last season surrounding his exit from Oklahoma City can’t seem to stop jabbing at the Thunder.
Durant released a new color for his KD 10 shoes in August surrounded by red-velvet cupcakes, a reference to the nickname given to him by Westbrook. In mid-September, photos surfaced of soles for his KD 10s that feature a series of critiques and names directed at him since he left Oklahoma City: “Lame,” “Doesn’t Care About Fans,” “He’s Changed,” “Quitter,” “Weak,” “Snake,” “Soft.”
A week later, when a fan asked him on Twitter for “one legitimate reason for leaving (Oklahoma City) other than getting a championship,” Durant responded twice, both times in the third person. The first reply read, “He didn’t like the organization or playing for Billy Donovan. His roster wasn’t that good, it was just him and russ.” The second tweet made matters only worse: “Imagine taking russ off that team, see how bad they were. Kd can’t win a championship with those cats.”
Durant apologized days later during an appearance at TechCrunch Disrupt, shouldering responsibility for the tweets and admitting that he took things “a little too far.” It wasn’t long before his superb play finally became the story line. However, moving past criticism is tricky for someone who uses vitriol to fuel him.
Last week, as the Warriors prepared for their nationally televised game at Boston, Bleacher Report published an expletive-filled interview with Durant that brought his rift with Oklahoma City back to the forefront. Among the topics addressed in the lengthy piece: The Thunder’s decision to give Durant’s No. 35 to two-way player P.J. Dozier; the “Cupcake Game” in February when he hung 34 points on his old team; loyalty, and the absence of it in the NBA.
“I liked it better when I was naive about the NBA business, how f— up it is,” Durant was quoted as saying. “That was better for me that way. … You put money and business into something that's pure, it's going to f— it up.”
Before boarding the team charter Tuesday to Oklahoma City, Durant had little interest in revisiting his fractured relationship with the team that helped groom him from promising playmaker to future Hall of Famer. He called Wednesday’s matchup “a regular game” and promised that he knows “how to tune out the bull—.”
Though that might not be entirely true away from the court, Durant has no issue on it. He averaged 37.7 points in three games against the Thunder last season, all convincing Golden State victories.
“We’re a year removed from the first one (in Oklahoma City), so hopefully it’ll be a little less hostile,” said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. “We’ll be ready for whatever.”