Kevin Durant has a reputation of being a bit sensitive to the opinions of fans and the media. With that in mind, the aftermath of his decision to join Golden State — forming the most talented superteam in NBA history — must have been an intensely draining experience for Durant. He went from beloved superstar with a reputation for being a good guy, but a killer on the court, to a widely-despised villain who “took the easy way out.” Durant needed some time to relax and forget about the nation’s opinion of him, and there was no better way to take that time than with Team USA in the Rio Olympics, he told Michael Lee of The Vertical:
“It was therapy for me after making a big change in my life,” Durant told The Vertical in the bowels of Carioca Arena 1 about an hour after scoring 30 points in Sunday’s 96-66 victory. “It made my life easier … I knew [a backlash] was coming. It was definitely different for me, but to come here in an environment where people accepted me and didn’t care about anything except being my buddy, that’s what I needed.”
Durant has absolutely been villainized too much, and NBA fans need to cut him some slack. At the end of the day, he just wants to win. He just had a winning experience with Team USA, in which he was the team’s focal player in the Gold Medal game vs. Serbia. Now, he will head into the 2016-17 season with an enormous chance of winning a championship. Say what you will about his decision, but Kevin Durant is in an awesome position.
