Kevin Durant is a mirror image of LeBron James

With a big decision looming, you can’t help but think that Kevin Durant is a mirror image of LeBron James

With the Toronto Raptors are on the brink of claiming the first ever NBA championship, there are questions swirling around the camp of their opponents, the back-to-back champion Golden State Warriors.

Or, perhaps, the ‘Worriers’ is a more appropriate nickname as they head back to Toronto down 3-1 in the series.

One of the questions surrounding the Warriors camp is the future of Kevin Durant. Durant has not played since May 8 when he strained his calf in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Houston Rockets. He was averaging 34.2 points on 51.3 percent shooting from the field in 11 playoff games before the injury.

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Durant, who is a high profile free agent this summer, will draw plenty of interest as he considers those options. The Warriors will also look to bring him back into the fold to make a run at a sixth consecutive finals appearance.

It has become more apparent as this series has unfolded that the Warriors have missed his offense complimenting the backcourt duo of Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry.

So while heading into the Finals, a popular narrative being discussed was that the Warriors could win without KD and that he isn’t needed, this has yet to be proven. Perhaps a Durant return in Game 5 could be exactly the turning point to jumpstart the Warriors once again.

Assuming KD doesn’t return and the Warriors lose the series, what will KD do next? One possibility to explore is that he may take the same path of another NBA superstar, LeBron James.

Turn back the clock to July 8, 2010. James announced on a live television special on ESPN that he would sign with the Miami Heat. The TV special was known as The Decision, and while the revenue from that special raised roughly $6 million for various charities, brought negative consequences for James.

He was criticized by media members, fans, along with current and former players for how he left the Cleveland Cavaliers and essentially conspired with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade to form a “superteam”. Video clips of fans burning James’ jerseys surfaced on television and social media, illustrating the betrayal many throughout Ohio were feeling.

After winning two NBA titles in four straight Finals appearances for the Heat, James became a free agent in the summer of 2014 allowing him to reunite with the Cavs.

The Cavaliers would return to the NBA Finals, for the first time since 2007 upon James’ return for the next four seasons. Winning a title in 2016. But during those four seasons, James went from hated villain to lauded sports hero particularly for breaking the long-standing Cleveland Sports Curse.

Similarly, on July 4, 2016, Durant who had won the MVP award in 2014 as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder, announced on The Players Tribune website his intentions to sign with the Golden State Warriors, who ironically lost to James’ Cavaliers in the Finals a couple of weeks earlier. While the announcement did not have the fanfare of The Decision, it also was met with overwhelming criticism of Durant. He was viewed as a superstar joining a team that was already stacked with budding and potential stars.

Similarly to James’ signing with Cleveland, Durant’s signing with Golden State paid immediate dividends for the Warriors with back-to-back Finals’ appearances and victories in 2017 and 2018 over James’ Cavaliers. Durant was also named Finals MVP in both series.

Now back to James. His image has been somewhat restored. He brought a championship to Cleveland, perhaps any guilt from The Decision has disappeared. He opted out of his contract on June 29, 2018, becoming an unrestricted free agent. Ten days later, he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.

While James’ tenure in Los Angeles hasn’t translated well in basketball terms thus far, being in southern California has allowed him to be closer to his media-related interests. After all, he’s accomplished a lot in basketball, but being LA will allow him opportunities to build his brand from a business standpoint.

Projects like the NBC game show, The Wall, the CBS reality series, Million Dollar Mile, along with various movie cameos and music recording sessions are easier to access from Los Angeles as opposed to Northeastern Ohio.

So once again, this brings us back to Durant. He’s won a couple of championships with the Warriors, he has built a reputation which he is no longer a villain but now he is a proven winner and now he’s reached a point where he’s accomplished much basketball-wise.

If LeBron James could move to a big market for business, why not Durant? KD to the Knicks or the Nets would pretty much mirror LeBron. KD could stay with the Warriors and could potentially win more championships.

It appears, however, ring chasing is no longer the priority but rather a bigger prize which is outside of basketball.