Newly tatted Kevin Durant has heard the criticism for almost three weeks now about signing with the Golden State Warriors. The criticism has come from former NBA players, media, fans and even current NBA players.
Durant spoke about the criticism and his legacy with Michael Lee of The Vertical.
“I just felt that this is where I should’ve been, where I should be, and I made the decision. And I’ll live with it. Because obviously, by making this decision, like Charles Barkley said, my legacy has dipped, I guess,” Durant told The Vertical after Wednesday’s U.S. Men’s Olympic team practice, with a hint of snark. “I don’t even know what ‘your legacy’ means. I look at legacy and I associate that with family.
“As a basketball player, what I’ve done, when I’m done playing, look at what I did. And ask yourself how you feel about it. The numbers are going to be there. Everything I’ve done, you’re going to see it. No matter if I play well or fall off, it’s your decision to tell me what my legacy is to you. That’s how it is now. Individually, what do you think Michael Jordan’s legacy is about, LeBron James’ legacy is about? That’s an individual, personal thing. I can’t control that.”
With Durant joining one of the greatest teams ever of course the backlash was going to be there but Durant seems to be handling the criticism well, which is something he wasn’t good at early in his career.
The handling of criticism is important for Durant because the Warriors are going to be dealing with it all year from the media and the fans, who will boo the Warriors all year. But Durant doesn’t care about being liked.
“No, I don’t. I want to be liked by people that I think love me. People I don’t know, I don’t care about,” Durant said. “I want you to respect my game and what I bring to the floor, and if you don’t like what I do as a person, I don’t care. I want you to respect my game and if you don’t, that’s your problem. But I don’t want to be liked. If somebody says, ‘KD’s a bad person,’ I’m not going to go in my home and boo-hoo tears. If you don’t like my game, I’m going go work on it and prove people that I am who I am, so it’s a difference.”
Is this the beginning of dark Kevin Durant? This new attitude of embracing the villain and focusing on winning championships and not winning any popularity contest is exciting and could lead to great basketball from Durant, who will be pursuing his first NBA title.
“As time goes on, you taste winning a little bit, it becomes infectious and you want to feel it all the time, especially now,” Durant said. “As you get older and older, that’s all you really want to do. I know what I am as a basketball player. I know what I bring. I know how I am and what type of a teammate I am. That stuff is a given to me. I just want to be part of helping a team. I want to be a part of being a great teammate and leaving a long-lasting impact on my teammates for the rest of our lives. That’s my whole goal.”
