8. Kevin Durant Goes to the Warriors in 2016 Free Agency
The general consensus going into the 2016 offseason was that after blowing a 3-1 deficit to the Golden State Warriors in the Conference Finals, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant together were set to make the Oklahoma City Thunder perennial contenders for years to come as they both implied they were there to stay and this was their best playoff performance since making the Finals against the Heat in 2012.
All the pundits, experts, and players assumed Kevin Durant would stay in Oklahoma City forever having just won MVP in 2014 where he was as revered as a hero for calling his mom, “The Real MVP,” during a teary-eyed speech.
Therefore, if Kevin Durant, once critical of super teams, were to leave the Thunder most assumed it would be for his hometown Wizards or to help the New York Knicks become a legitimate, exciting franchise again. What no one assumed and everyone was shocked by was that Kevin Durant would go to the most stacked team who had just broken the record for most wins ever and lost a 3-1 NBA Finals lead to the Cleveland Cavaliers… right before KD’s Thunder blew a 3-1 lead to them… the Warriors!
This move absolutely tore the league apart. “If you can’t beat em’ join em,” had never had such a literal use before as Kevin Durant joined a 73-win team that was one game away from being champions and clearly did not need him in order to effectively guarantee himself a championship ring.
This move completely broke the league for two years as it was the first time two MVPs in Steph Curry and Kevin Durant joined forces in their prime. The Warriors demolished the Cavaliers in the Finals for the next two years as we never got a true rubber match after the Warriors beat the Cavaliers in the Finals in 2015 and the Cavaliers beat the Warriors in 2016.
Kevin Durant on the Warriors was simply unfair and brought a whole new meaning to player movement.