The Decision Part Two: Kevin Durant occurred this week, with the former league MVP agreeing to sign with the Golden State Warriors to help lead their super-team into the next season. With a player opt-out clause after the first season this is clearly Durant chasing the ever elusive championship ring before he plies his trade on the open market with a huge contract on the line. Right or wrong, players are remembered most for the championships that they won, or didn’t win. Michael Jordan is the best because he won so many championships (in a watered down league, but that’s another story), Bill Russell is fondly remembered because of the number of banners he hoisted, and Tracy McGrady is remembered for how many times he failed in the playoffs. If Durant and the Warriors are able to win the championship next season it allows Durant to seek the best landing spot for his family the following season without the added pressure of playoff failure hanging on his resume.
The comical part about the signing was the backlash against Durant from fans. Fans questioned everything from his integrity to his manhood, which was never fair. Fans like to put sports on a pedestal and act like every player treats every game like it is life or death. Do players enjoy winning and being considered the best in their respective sport? Of course, but we often forget that these athletes are people. Fans have no idea what transpired behind the scenes, they have no idea what pushed Durant into the arms of Steph Curry and company. Consider the fact that Durant is moving from Oklahoma City to California for a second, consider the fact that Durant is leaving a team dominated by Russell Westbrook and his me-first mentality for Steph Curry and the Warriors mantra of being a family.
On a competitive level, Durant leaving for Golden State leaves much to be desired. Because Jordan was an ultra-competitive jerk with no friends, fans expect every great player to be like that, or at least to want to be like that. Players aren’t allowed to have friends in the business because they often get criticized for befriending the “enemy”. No matter that they are a part of a select group of people who are going to have trouble relating to anyone with a “normal” life because of their money and celebrity status.
Don’t get me wrong, everybody has a right to voice their opinion, and everybody has one. Fans choose to pay their money to enjoy the product put on by the NBA, and because of that they think that they are owed something by the players. If you devote your life to following another human being, that’s up to you, but these players owe you nothing. The team owes you a seat in a stadium, the cable company owes you a channel with NBA access, but the player owes you nothing. The player is a contracted worker who gets to decide which jobsite they would prefer to work at, don’t make them wrong for choosing a jobsite that looks more appealing to them and better works with their life goals after they have already fulfilled the contract work with the other company.
Don’t make it more than it is.
