Kevin Durant: Michael Jordan didn’t go through what I did

Kevin Durant cares what people think of him. He has gone to devious lengths to combat what has become widespread criticism after he left the Thunder for the Warriors.

Durant, via Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report:

“I’m a person,” he says. “I’ve got real feelings and I’m not afraid to be vulnerable in front of people who watch us play or that follow the league. It’s f--ked up that you’re saying that stuff about me, because just a couple months before, I was the greatest thing since sliced bread because I was playing for your team. Your team is on TV every day, playing late into the playoffs and you get to brag about how good your city is to some other people around the country. It was all good when I was doing something for you. It was all good when I was representing you. Now I decided to take my career in my hands and I’m a ‘bitch’? That’s confusing … because some people that I’d seen that cheered for me, people that I actually talked to, the faces they were giving me, the tone they had when they looked at me, it was weird.

“Those people really mean a lot to me to this day,” he says. “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.

“I didn’t have that perspective at first. I didn’t have it when I went back to OKC. I was like, ‘F--k all of them.’ I didn’t have it when they gave my number away. I was, ‘F--k all of them.’ My best friend works for the team, I told him, ‘F--k all y’all. That’s f--ked up.’ Then I had to get out of my head, tell myself, ‘It’s not that serious, it is what it is.’ I understand it’s not my number anymore, they can do whatever they want with it, but you hand that number to a two-way player, you’ve got to be, like, ‘Nah, we’ve got too many good memories with this number, man.’ But at some point, that thing’s going to be in the rafters anyway; it’s all good. I did something they didn’t like. They did something I didn’t like. S--t happens. If I was on my death bed, I guarantee you Sam Presti and Russell Westbrook would come check on me. So I’m going to look at it that way rather than the other way.”

“If I [respond], it’s: ‘No, you’re sensitive. Shut up. You’re supposed to take it. Everybody did it. Michael went through it.’ I’m like, hold up. Michael Jordan did not go through this. You know what Michael Jordan went through? Reading the paper and it says, ‘Oh, Michael Jordan was 7-for-33 the night before, how the f--k is he going to bounce back?’ That’s criticism. Criticism is not, ‘_____, you moved to _____, you’re a bitch, a coward.’ That’s not criticism. Criticism is calling me Mr. Unreliable and bouncing back the next night.”

The obvious retort is that Jordan never left the Bulls for an easier path to a championship. That wasn’t necessarily Durant’s intention – he opened up about what a ring means to him and much more in Bucher’s piece – but it’s reality. Durant took a shortcut to a title by signing with the Warriors.

But it’s also true that social media gives Durant’s critics access to him that Jordan’s critics never had. Jordan himself admitted it would have been harder for him today.

Durant invites scorn, though. Despite clearly wanting to move on from the Oklahoma City drama on some level, he keeps bringing it up – which I appreciate, because that’s true to who he is. He’s someone who cares about the Thunder giving his old number to P.J. Dozier. He’s someone who can’t get past fans who said they cared about him as a person turning on him because he changed jobs. That’s authentic Durant, and he’s not afraid to reveal it. That approach also fuels his critics.

All Durant can do now is keep being true to himself and playing well, which goes a long way toward silencing detractors.