NBA: LeBron James Forced Kevin Durant’s Move To Golden State
NBA: Don’t fault Kevin Durant for his decision; LeBron James’ dominance forced him to join the Golden State Warriors
Dominance can be the ultimate double-edged sword. On one end, it be fun and exciting. On the other end, it can become stale and boring. It’s like an individual’s dating life: sometimes you have to try new things for different experiences.
LeBron James is the fun and exciting, and Kevin Durant’s decision to join the Warriors is the stale and boring. Think about it…for the past 13 seasons, we’ve all been in awe of the player James has become.
He’s a four-time MVP and three-time NBA champion. Oh yeah, the last time he’s been absent from the finals was in 2010, ya know, when “Jersey Shore” was the most talked about show.
The dominance of LeBron, since he’s been to six straight finals, has changed the NBA.
More from Sir Charles In Charge
- LeBron James working to assemble super team for USA Basketball in 2024
- Dillon Brooks proved his value to Houston Rockets in the 2023 FIBA World Cup
- NBA Trade Rumors: 1 Player from each team most likely to be traded in-season
- Golden State Warriors: Buy or sell Chris Paul being a day 1 starter
- Does Christian Wood make the Los Angeles Lakers a legit contender?
We’ve seen super teams such as the 2012-13 Lakers and 2013-14 Nets form because of him, but fail because teams of that stature are harder to be a cohesive unit on the court than their names on the sheet of paper.
James has become the blueprint of dominance and stability on a team with other greats, and it’s what some teams want to emulate.
Insert the Warriors.
Golden State was already a dominate team, as they went 73-9 throughout the 2015-16 season, which is the best record in regular-season history. They were dominant with a nucleus of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green, along with role players in the mold of Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Festus Ezeli and Marreese Speights.
[LeBron’s] dominance led [the Warriors] to pursuing and signing Durant
The team had it all…until they ran into “King James.”
James and his crew consisting of, most notably, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, made history by coming back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Warriors. The comeback was epic, and it exposed flaws in Golden State and again showed why James was so dominant on the court.
His dominance led to them pursuing and signing Durant. The question remains: will the Warriors’ “Core four” dominate the league and become a dynasty as we all expect, or crumble because the pieces don’t fit?
The pressure is all on Durant even though it shouldn’t be. His nine-year tenure of working for the Thunder became stale, and he realized that a change of scenery was required, along with being put in a position to win the ultimate goal his peers strive for: an NBA championship.
He’s taking a risk on his own for a new experience, and that’s commendable. All of us have been in situations – most likely relationships – where change was required and it took a lot of internal strength to make it happen, just like Durant.
Some people believe him going to the Bay Area is him making a heel turn like James did in 2010 going to South Beach. It’s hard to compare the two situations with a full scope, because we all know Durant won’t be as hated as James was.
Durant isn’t leaving his hometown team or a city clinging onto their star. He’s leaving a city that has Russell Westbrook, for now at least, and a place that he helped put on the map and stay relevant as a small market team.
Also, the Warriors play a brand of basketball that all of America loves, and they have “Chef Curry,” who’s become a fixture of most families and kids. Will the team be booed? Sometimes. Will they be hated? Nah.
A fair comparison to the Durant situation is this: him joining the Warriors is the equivalent if James joined the Celtics back 2010: a dominant super team that’s already in place, but holds you back every postseason.
Being in Golden State will expand Durant and Nike’s brand, have his name more talked about, better suited to win a championship and open to more opportunities outside of basketball in California.
With that being said, please keep in mind that basketball is his living. No one has the right begrudge another man’s decision to work somewhere else. Not one argument can be made as to how and why staying in Oklahoma City would’ve been more beneficial to him.
Every single person alive and employed wants that job promotion, raise and notoriety. Durant is getting that, but yet some people don’t get it are stuck in their fandom. Basketball is a sport. The NBA is a place of business and employment. Separate the two. You have a career and he has is.
must read: NBA Power Rankings: Post Draft And Free Agency Edition
James’ dominance in the NBA is why the Warriors pursued Durant. Durant going to Golden State is to become great on and off the court. To capitalize on everyone opportunity he can, because you’d do the same.