KD reflects on OKC: 'That blue is going to be in my blood forever'
Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant took some time to reflect on leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder, and then he let everything out.
Durant admitted he was upset by how OKC fans turned on him after he chose to sign with Golden State, but he'll ultimately look back fondly on his eight seasons with the Thunder.
"That stuff right there is going to last forever," Durant told Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report. "That stuff is way, way more important than a championship. Me and my family didn't just erase those eight years in OKC. D.C. and OKC is where we grew up - my mom, my brother, me.
"I am OKC. I'm still OKC. That blue is going to be in my blood forever. That place raised me. I have people there who would take a bullet for me and vice versa. But there's a point in a young man's life, just like when he goes off to college, or when he moves to another city to get a job, he's got to make a decision for himself. You've got to make a decision that's best for yourself and you would expect the people that love you the most to say they understand."
The response from Thunder fans was similar to that of Cleveland when LeBron James left for Miami in 2010, after Durant's announcement on The Players' Tribune that he would take his talents to the 73-win team that eliminated the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals. Durant instantly went from being their favorite son to being hated, as fans responded by burning his jersey, flooding his social media mentions, and one person went so far as to fire an automatic rifle at his old uniform.
His former Thunder teammates followed suit. Russell Westbrook, who Durant once called his brother, played up the rivalry at every possible opportunity, which further endeared him to Thunder fans and made his bitterness toward Durant into a national storyline.
For better or for worse, these are people in his life that he'll cherish, regardless of whether he gets the same love in return, or not.
"Those people really mean a lot to me to this day. No matter if they talk to me or they're mad at me. Whether it's Sam Presti or Troy Weaver or Russell Westbrook or Nick Collison. Whether it's Wilson Taylor or Clay Bennett and his family, I love them from the bottom of my heart. We're not talking, but eventually we will," Durant said.