Kevin Durant Chooses To Join Golden State Warriors
BOSTON (CBS) -- The dreams of Kevin Durant in a Celtics uniform are over.
Durant is signing with the Golden State Warriors. He made the announcement Monday on The Players' Tribune.
"This has been by far the most challenging few weeks in my professional life. I understood cognitively that I was facing a crossroads in my evolution as a player and as a man, and that it came with exceptionally difficult choices," Durant wrote. "The primary mandate I had for myself in making this decision was to have it based on the potential for my growth as a player — as that has always steered me in the right direction. But I am also at a point in my life where it is of equal importance to find an opportunity that encourages my evolution as a man: moving out of my comfort zone to a new city and community which offers the greatest potential for my contribution and personal growth. With this in mind, I have decided that I am going to join the Golden State Warriors."
The decision goes against Durant's line of thinking six years ago, when LeBron James and the Miami Heat were building a super team in South Florida:
Now everybody wanna play for the heat and the Lakers? Let's go back to being competitive and going at these peoples!
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) July 16, 2010
In leaving Oklahoma City, Durant said he was leaving the town that "truly raised me."
Kevin Durant called Thunder GM Sam Presti and told him directly of his decision to join the Warriors, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 4, 2016
"It really pains me to know that I will disappoint so many people with this choice, but I believe I am doing what I feel is the right thing at this point in my life and my playing career," Durant wrote.
Durant, a seven-time All Star and the NBA's MVP in 2014, has averaged 27.4 points and seven rebounds per game over his nine-year career. The 6-foot-9 small forward has led the NBA in scoring five times, last accomplishing the feat during his MVP run.
He shot a career-high 57 percent from the floor last season for the Thunder, averaging 28.2 points per contest, helping OKC win 55 games during the regular season.
Durant, the second-overall pick in 2007 by the then-Seattle SuperSonics, led the Thunder to the NBA Finals in 2012, falling to LeBron James and the Miami Heat in five games. The Thunder have been to the Western Conference Finals twice in Durant's career, including last season, when they lost to the Golden State Warriors despite holding a 3-1 series lead.
Durant and has averaged 28.8 points per game in the postseason.
Boston was one of six teams to meet with Durant, the prize of this summer's free agent crop, over the weekend.
The Celtics made a strong push, bringing Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to their meeting with Durant in the Hamptons. Durant also reportedly liked Boston's addition of Al Horford, but it was not enough to lure Durant.