NBA news roundup: Kevin Durant reflects; NBA bands ninja head bands
Some news and notes from around the NBA as we inch closer to the start of training camps
Citing safety concerns, the NBA announced that they’re officially banning “ninja-style” headbands that a handful of players were wearing last season.
Per the NBA, they decided to ban the headwear because:
"The NBA never had a formal process to approve the headgear, and allowed players to wear it during the 2018-19 season because, spokesman Mike Bass told ESPN, “We didn’t want to cause a disruption by intervening midseason.”"
The accessory was popularized by Jimmy Butler and Mike Scott, among others, last season. Then, next thing you know, the trend caught on with large numbers of other players including LeBron James and Jrue Holiday.
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So now, we won’t be seeing players wearing the headgear, but the general consensus is that the NBA claims of safety concerns are totally insane.
The pieces of cloth lacked any sort of NBA or Nike branding. The growing belief here is that the league saw a prime marketing opportunity and decided to ban the headband until they released their own ninja style headbands complete with a Nike Swoosh and the NBA logo on them.
Kevin Durant on OKC and GSW
Kevin Durant admitted in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that a big reason why he left the Golden State Warriors was that he felt he differed so much from his teammates. He also revealed that he hasn’t spoken to anyone from the Oklahoma City Thunder organization since he left.
It was obvious from the beginning of his time with the Warriors that KD didn’t exactly fit. He was never going to be seen as “the guy” from the fans and was treated differently, by the media, compared to the rest of his teammates. It just didn’t seem like he was warmly embraced by the Dub Nation. Because of that, KD admits he felt different.
Even though the team took home two championships with KD on the roster and KD was named NBA Finals MVP twice, he wasn’t ever viewed in the same light as the rest of the team. So, when it came time to make a decision regarding his future with the Warriors, he opted to go somewhere else, where he already was appreciated by the fans.
Next. Los Angeles Lakers fans should thank Kawhi Leonard. dark
In the interview, he also touched on how OKC turned on him immediately after making his decision to leave in 2016, something he didn’t expect and probably didn’t prepare for.