Kevin Durant is a champion again, and with that, the sting of his departure from Oklahoma City doesn’t cut quite as deep anymore. But make no mistake-his move from OKC to the Golden State Warriors back in 2016 remains one of the most seismic shifts in modern NBA history. And now, nearly a decade later, Durant is still peeling back the layers of that decision.
Appearing on Fred VanVleet’s Unguarded podcast, Durant opened up about his time with the Thunder and why he ultimately felt it was time to move on. VanVleet, currently Durant’s teammate in Houston but sidelined this season with a torn ACL, played host as the two discussed everything from past battles to present roles.
“In OKC, we had a lot of specialists,” Durant said. “We had dudes that played defense but couldn’t score on their own, or dudes that could shoot but then couldn’t guard that well.
There's a lot that goes into making that offense work. We did a solid job.”
Durant’s assessment of those Thunder teams isn’t exactly groundbreaking, but it’s revealing. He’s not throwing shade-he’s giving a candid look at what it’s like to play on a team where every player has a defined role, sometimes to a fault.
That OKC squad had talent, no question. But when you’re trying to win a championship, versatility matters.
And Durant clearly felt the Thunder lacked the kind of offensive balance that could push them over the top.
What makes this especially interesting is the parallel to Durant’s current team in Houston. Like those Thunder squads, this Rockets group is deep, but many of their role players lean heavily to one side of the ball.
They’re either defensive stoppers or offensive sparks-not often both. Still, they’ve emerged as one of the league’s top five teams, and there’s a certain irony in Durant now being part of a roster that echoes some of the same construction he once left behind.
Of course, the turning point came in 2016, when Durant made the decision that stunned the league: joining the very team that had just come back from a 3-1 series deficit to beat his Thunder in the Western Conference Finals. The Warriors were already a juggernaut with Stephen Curry, and Durant knew exactly what he was stepping into.
“Golden State called me. I’m like, ‘S--t, they’re averaging 120 a game,’” Durant said.
“I won’t have to worry about a zone every time I catch the ball, double-teaming me as soon as the game starts... I feel like we made the game better because you had to come with it from the first possession of the game or you were gonna get blown out.”
That’s vintage KD-blunt, honest, and rooted in basketball logic. He wasn’t just chasing rings; he was chasing a system that allowed him to be the best version of himself.
And for a while, it worked to perfection. Durant and the Warriors were nearly unbeatable, capturing two titles in three seasons and redefining how the modern NBA offense could look when it ran through multiple superstars who could all shoot, pass, and move without the ball.
Since then, Durant’s been searching for that same kind of synergy in different places-Brooklyn, Phoenix, and now Houston. The results have been mixed, but the pursuit is the same: find a team that can match his basketball IQ, his versatility, and his hunger for greatness.
Looking back, it’s clear that his decision to leave OKC wasn’t about one thing. It was about a combination of factors-roster construction, offensive freedom, and a desire to play a brand of basketball that didn’t make him the sole engine of the offense every night.
That decision didn’t just shift Durant’s career trajectory-it reshaped the NBA landscape. It was the first domino in a chain reaction that altered how teams build contenders, how superstars weigh legacy, and how fans view loyalty in the player empowerment era.
And as for OKC? The franchise has been rebuilding ever since, still chasing the championship that Durant once brought within reach. The echoes of that move are still felt today, and they likely will be for years to come.