Tale of two cities
Oklahoma City and former Thunder Kevin Durant had a bond; Knicks are leaders in dysfunction,
For everyone outside the Sooner State, those Kevin Durant moments that said everything about his special bond with Oklahoma City would come and go like tumbleweed.
The national spotlight is fleeting that way, especially when it comes to the small-market NBA experience. But the locals who loved him upon his arrival from Seattle as a 19-year-old in 2008 and who will see him at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Saturday (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC) for the first time since he signed with the Golden State Warriors in July will never forget.
The history, above all else, is why this still hurts for Oklahoma City Thunder fans. The fact that Russell Westbrook still seems so fighting mad is nothing more than salt in the wound that might never heal.
GIVING BACK
It’s May 22, 2013.
Durant, wearing a bright red Nike shirt and a backward baseball cap, is walking through the rubble caused by the EF5 tornado that took 24 lives and injured 377 people in the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore. It’s like walking inside an unlit campfire, the ground covered with sticks that used to be someone’s home.
Durant, by way of his foundation, has decided to donate $1 million to help the suffering. Nike matches the million, as do the Thunder. The Oklahoma City loss to the Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference semifinals, which concluded a week before, suddenly seems so small. And devastating though it is, the people who see him as one of their own will be able to bounce back just a little easier because of Durant’s generosity.
“Mr. Durant’s gift and support to Oklahoma comes at a time of great need, and we’re forever thankful for his generosity,” Red Cross regional CEO Janienne Bella says.
THE SPEECH
It’s May 6, 2014.
Durant is scheduled to discuss his MVP award on a windy spring day, and the crowd of media members, fans and Thunder officials walks through the clouds of dust to the old barn in Edmond, Okla., where those first Oklahoma City teams used to practice. They’re in a much fancier facility where the familiar smell of dog food from the nearby factory is nowhere to be found, but it’s fitting that this is where their adopted son will speak.
This is where the Thunder’s tale began.
By the time his 25-minute speech is over, with Durant having retold the inspiring story of how his mother, Wanda Pratt, willed them from the Seat Pleasant, Md., roots to this special situation, dry eyes are in short supply.
“I enjoy being a part of something like this, knowing that when we come into the arena, they’re going to love you no matter what,” Durant tells Thunder fans. “They’re going to always feel the same way about us. You don’t want to take that for granted, because the grass is not always greener on the other side, and you need to learn to appreciate these wonderful people here.” And then, the kicker: “It’s the perfect place for me.”
After the applause dies down and the crowd dissipates, reporters walk out debating what it might all mean for Durant’s forthcoming decision. Considering the fickle nature of free agency and the reality that so much could change in the two years he had left to ponder it all, might he rue this day?
IMPACTING A COMMUNITY
It’s Sept. 26, 2015.
Durant, fresh off a visit to the nearby Capitol building for an event to promote fitness among children, is sitting in the back of a black suburban outside of his townhouse in downtown Oklahoma City.
The words of Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin are behind him now: “You guys are making an impact,” she has told him, “and putting Oklahoma on the face of the earth.”
The motor is stopped, but his mind is moving as he discusses the adoring scene he left behind and how to balance that deep affection with the reality of an unknown future.
“When you see stuff like that, it makes you have a heart for a city,” says Durant, who would be inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame three months later. “I’m excited that I’m a part of something so huge. We were the first team here, and I’m sure long after I’m done playing I’m going to feel as if we were pioneers of this. That’s what makes me want to fight as hard as I can every single day and really embrace where I am.”
It’s the last part — Durant’s dedication to living moment-by-moment — that always seems to go overlooked.
“Everybody wants to know (what he was going to do in free agency),” Durant says. “But I’m taking it day by day with the Oklahoma City Thunder. That’s my main concern. And whatever the future holds, I don’t know, because I can’t tell you the future. I’m going to take it a day at a time.”
THE (UNOFFICIAL) END
It’s May 31, 2016.
Durant’s last day with the Thunder has unofficially arrived, with Oklahoma City having fallen in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals against the Warriors and thereby blown their 3-1 lead.
But by Durant’s admission, even he doesn’t know yet that this is the end.
Not far from the visitors locker room at Oracle Arena, where Westbrook is in one corner talking to his wife and Durant’s news conference has come to an end, reporters line up to have one last conversation with him before he disappears into the pre-free agency abyss.
It’s one thing to stave off talk of his future when it’s years away, but it’s a month away now. And Durant, knowing full well that the thirst to read his mind is in full force, sounds as loyal to Oklahoma City as ever.
“I’m the leader of this team,” Durant says. “I’m the leader of this franchise, and I’ve got to go out and represent everyone. I’ve got to win with class and dignity, and I’ve also got to lose with the same class and dignity.
“So of course I’m pissed (about losing). I wish we would’ve won. I’ll be thinking about it for the rest of the summer. But I’m the representation of this team. And when people see me, they think about the organization, so I have to represent it in a better light. … I also have to let them know, really, what this is all about and look at the big picture, so I feel like I’m representing a lot of people besides myself.”
THE NEXT CHAPTER
It’s July 4, 2016.
When millions of people log on to The Players’ Tribune website to see Durant’s final decision, they’re greeted by an ambiguous headline (“My Next Chapter”) and an even less revealing picture.
Durant, looking pensive with his arms crossed and surrounded by foliage, is wearing a sleeveless white T-shirt with nothing on the front.
He buries the lede, waiting two paragraphs and a total of 158 words to announce that he’s signing with the Warriors. The talk of heartache, both his and theirs, has begun.
“It really pains me to know that I will disappoint so many people with this choice, but I believe I am doing what I feel is the right thing at this point in my life and my playing career,” Durant writes. “I will miss Oklahoma City and the role I have had in building this remarkable team.
“I will forever cherish the relationships within the organization — the friends and teammates that I went to war with on the court for nine years and all the fans and people of the community. They have always had my back unconditionally, and I cannot be more grateful for what they have meant to my family and to me.”