Looking back on his illustrated career, future Hall-of-Famer Kevin Durant gave a surprising answer when asked what his favorite era has been in the league.
Durant answered his time on the Oklahoma City Thunder. The 35-year-old established himself as one of the best players of his generation in his nine seasons with the franchise.
“It has to be the OKC time period because it was like the entry point into all of this,” Durant said. “That’s like the foundation of everything. We were young and we were playing against dynasties, you know what I’m saying?
“We were competing against the Lakers with Kobe when they won back-to-back, Dallas when they won a championship, Miami with LeBron and Dwayne Wade.
“That was the start of it all and I think a coming in early, me, James (Harden), Russ (Westbrook), Serge (Ibaka), we were 22 or 23 thrown into the fire.”
Durant sounded fond of his time in OKC, mentioning the lasting impact his tenure had on young players currently in the league.
“I didn’t realize until I got older, guys that are in their 30s now are like we grew up watching you dudes in your 20s,” Durant said. “A lot of young people gravitated towards that team cause they saw we were all young. We all came consecutive years — me , Russ, James, Serge — and then we just kept building from there. That probably is the most fun I had in the league.
Time heals all wounds and that appears to be the case with Durant on his time with the Thunder. The ugly divorce in 2016 saw the former MVP turn into a villain for OKC, as he left for the Golden State Warriors.
Despite fans still being animosity towards Durant for that near decade-long decision, the two-time NBA champion still feels nostalgic about his tenure with the Thunder.
