Durant braces for bittersweet homecoming
Superstar’s return to Oklahoma City won’t be all smiles.
OAKLAND, CALIF. — As much as it still hurts for so many Oklahomans to see Kevin Durant shine elsewhere, the Golden State star remains committed to the community he called home for nearly a decade — the place where he grew into the basketball player he is today and the man he has become.
Durant, who starred for a season with the Texas Longhorns before moving on to the NBA, departed Oklahoma City with fanfare on the Fourth of July last year to chase a championship with Stephen Curry and the star-studded Warriors.
So when he goes back Saturday night for the first time, it will be far from a perfectly harmonious reunion. And that’s fine with Durant. He gets it — he understands what he meant to a city that so desperately needed the lift he provided.
“I put everything into that place, so it will be great to see some people that I haven’t seen in a while,” he said. “So I’m looking forward to that.”
I n D e c e mb e r, D u r a n t donated $57,000 to Positive Tomorrows, an Oklahoma City elementary school for homeless children that he still cares very much about — and insists he always will, wherever he is. So far, he has honored that commitment after previously giving $35,000 to the school through his foundation.
“Well, t hat’s re al l i f e, ” Durant said in December. “I ’ ve been a par t of t hat group going on four years now. Just ’cuz I left there don’t mean I’ll stop building with them. That’s totally separate from this NBA stuff. Those kids mean a lot to me, definitely want to continue to keep helping them. I’m glad I can keep helping growing the school.
“It’s all about the community there. That was home for me for eight years. I’ve still got love for the people there.”
But did Durant have to join the Warriors, of all teams? The franchise that somehow rallied from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Thunder in a thrilling Western Conference final series last June?
“I do know it’ll be huge for him, and them,” teammate Draymond Green said this week. “They want him coming back in there as well. It will be a huge weekend for them also. Huge for him, and if it’s huge for him, it’s huge for us. It’s like any other time, you always have ones that you have circled on the schedule.”
Golden State has already beaten Durant’s old team handily t wice this season — by a combined 47 points.
Durant has been brilliant in those games: 79 points on 28-for-40 shooting.
Most recently, Durant dazzled with a season-best 40 points in a 121-100 win Jan. 18 at Oracle Arena. He hit seven 3-pointers on the way to 39 points in the first meeting, a 122-96 Warriors rout Nov. 3, also at Oracle.
There are sure to be mixed feelings when he enters Chesapeake Energy Arena again. Boos? Cheers? Both. So stung were some fans by his decision that they burned his No. 35 jersey and began calling him a coward.
Facing Russell Westbrook and his old teammates twice already, Durant has kept his emotions in check and flatout dominated.
“It’s good to see everybody, but once the ball’s tipped you’re just playing, just hooping. It’s as simple as that,” he said.
T h e r e i s n o l o v e l o s t between Durant and Oklahoma City’s current superstar. No pregame pleasantries are planned.
“I don’t talk to nobody during the game,” Westbrook said, noting that Durant’s reception will be up to the fans.. “Obviously, Kevin has done a lot for Oklahoma City and our team when he was here.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr c ha nge d t e a ms s o many times he became used to regular returns to arenas he once called home. Yet the reigning NBA coach of the year was a role player, a far different situation from Durant’s.
“I t a l ways g ive s yo u a bounce in your step when you go back to the place where you played. You get an emotional kick-start. Just walking into the building is exciting, seeing all your old friends and having all those memories,” Kerr said. “It’s a weird feeling, but it’s nice because out of 82 games sometimes you need that emotion, and that’ll definitely do it. I can’t even imagine what it’ll feel like for KD — that’s a totally different level. It’s one thing to be a role player for a few years, but to be a superstar in one town and have the whole place adore, the whole city, to go back is going be very emotional for him.”