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When Kevin Durant left Oklahoma City Thunder to join the Golden State Warriors in 2016, he received a lot of criticism for his sudden departure and that criticism continues till today.
The Warriors won the 2018 NBA Championship and Durant played a critical role along with Stephen Curry. During the last two seasons, the Warriors have relied heavily on Kevin Durant and there have been many times when he has carried the team on his shoulders and stepped up when Curry was injured or having a tough day.
Durant spent nine seasons with OKC and was a good player but there was something missing from his game. He made a decision that it was time for him to have a change of scene and that is when he signed a 2 year contract with the Warriors and it transformed Durant into the player that he is today.
The stats show that Durant played 62 games for the Warriors in 2016 and averaged 25.1 points per game, with 8.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists. He got better in 2017 playing 68 games and averaging 26.4 per game with 6.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists. During the 2018 NBA finals, his average went up to 28.8 points per game, 10.8 rebounds and 7.5 assists.
The Warriors know how vital he is to their team success and recently re-signed the All Star to a one plus one year contract worth $30 million for the coming season and an option to make $31.5 million for the next season should he decide to continue.
ESPN
Durant Brushes Off Criticism
Durant has received a lot of flak for his conflicted personality as he professes to be a Christian but there are some parts of Durant that likes to be wild and free. Durant says that part of that confusion was because he was trying to please people and was not really being himself.
In a statement, Durant said
I never really cared what people thought. I just thought they were a part of this whole thing. I just thought that I had to listen to that type of stuff because it was just a part of the game — listening to the media, talking to the media, figuring out what fans wanted, figuring out what they thought about my game.
Durant will want to help the Warriors to win another NBA Championship. Once the season is done, he will have the option of signing a 5 year contract worth over $220 million or becoming a free agent and signing with a new team.
