NBA Insider Feels Kevin Durant Realizes He Won't Get Credit for Winning with Warriors | News, Scores

At least one NBA insider wonders if Kevin Durant signing with the Golden State Warriors was the worst thing to happen in his career.

"I sometimes wonder. ... Was [signing with the Warriors] the worst thing to happen to Kevin Durant?" ESPN's Zach Lowe said Friday on Get Up. "Because he went there, he won two Finals, won two Finals MVPs. No one can take that away from him. He's never going to get the credit that those accomplishments would normally bestow upon him because of how good the team was.

"I think he's realized that, his people realized that, he feels that, and he's been a wayward soul since that. I wonder, if he went back to that moment and Golden State was not an option for him, if he could have made his own path in a way that was more sustainable."

Durant has not advanced past the second round of the playoffs since leaving the Warriors in 2019. His teams have been swept in the first round twice over that span, including a drubbing in the 2024 postseason by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Durant has remained one of the world's best basketball players, but he's continually surrounded himself with flawed co-stars. Kyrie Irving started shattering the foundation in Brooklyn long before James Harden came along in Brooklyn, and this season's Suns were always a top-heavy team with an odd roster construction.

Phoenix doesn't have much maneuverability to improve the team, either. The Suns have more than $150 million annually tied up in Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. No one is trading for Beal's contract after a miserable first season in Phoenix, so the only avenue for roster change would be to trade Booker—likely a nonstarter for both the Suns front office and Durant.

The Warriors' 2022 championship without Durant also stands out for potentially sticking in his craw.

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