Kevin Durant has done just about everything there is to do in the NBA. Rookie of the Year.
League MVP. Two-time champion.
Two-time Finals MVP. Eleven All-NBA selections.
Oh, and he’s currently sitting sixth on the all-time scoring list, with Michael Jordan’s fifth-place spot well within reach. That’s not just a Hall of Fame résumé-it’s the kind of career that defines an era.
But for all the accolades, Durant’s legacy has always come with a little extra conversation. Not because of the numbers-those speak for themselves-but because of the path he took to get them.
Let’s rewind. Durant entered the league with the Seattle SuperSonics, playing their final season before the franchise moved to Oklahoma City.
In OKC, he blossomed into a superstar and fan favorite, spending eight seasons there and helping turn the Thunder into a legitimate contender. Alongside Russell Westbrook and James Harden (briefly), Durant made the Finals in 2012 and won a league MVP in 2014.
His popularity was sky-high.
Then came 2016. The Thunder had just blown a 3-1 lead to the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals.
And shortly after, Durant made one of the most scrutinized free-agent decisions in NBA history: he joined the very team that had just beaten him. Not just any team, either-the 73-win Warriors, the most dominant regular-season squad the league had ever seen.
The backlash was immediate. Critics said he took the easy route.
That he joined a superteam that didn’t need him. That he disrupted the competitive balance of the league.
Even when Durant went on to win back-to-back titles and Finals MVPs-outplaying LeBron James in both series-some fans still weren’t ready to give him his due.
Fast forward to today, and Durant is still getting buckets, now with the Houston Rockets. But the debate over his place in NBA history-and more specifically, whether he deserves a statue-has resurfaced.
On a recent episode of No Fouls Given, Paul Pierce didn’t hesitate to make his stance clear: “I’m giving Durant a statue in Golden State too,” he said. “I got two chips and two Finals MVPs. Durant gets a statue in Golden State.”
Pierce even had a vision for it: KD rising up from that left wing, draining one of those ice-cold threes over LeBron. “Give him that statue. Come on dawg,” he laughed.
Danny Green, Pierce’s cohost, wasn’t sold. He argued that if Durant gets a statue anywhere, it should be in Oklahoma City. After all, that’s where he spent the bulk of his career and where he meant the most to a franchise.
And that’s where the conversation gets tricky.
Because when it comes to statues, it’s not just about stats or rings. It’s about emotional resonance.
It’s about how a player made a fanbase feel. When fans walk past a statue outside an arena, it’s supposed to stir up pride, nostalgia, joy-not questions or mixed emotions.
Durant, for all his greatness, doesn’t have that kind of unanimous love from either Golden State or Oklahoma City. In the Bay Area, some fans still see him as a hired gun-an elite talent who helped bring banners, yes, but never fully felt like one of them. And when he left for Brooklyn before the Warriors could chase more titles together, it left a sour taste for some.
Steph Curry? No doubt he’s getting a statue.
Klay Thompson and Draymond Green? Very likely, given their roles in building the Warriors dynasty from the ground up.
But Durant? That’s where things start to feel a little less certain.
He was the best player on those title teams-but not necessarily the face of the franchise.
In OKC, it’s a similar story. Durant was the city’s first superstar.
He brought them to national relevance. He won an MVP there.
But he didn’t win a championship. And when he left, it hurt-a lot.
Time has done some healing, and the Thunder winning a title last season with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander certainly helped. But it’s fair to ask: do Thunder fans really want a statue of the guy who walked away?
Durant’s career has been defined by movement. He’s chosen to forge his own path, even when it wasn’t the most popular one.
He’s played in four cities, with four franchises, and has made an impact in each. But that same journey-the one that’s made him one of the most fascinating players of his generation-has also made it harder to pin down a single place that feels like home.
Statues are about permanence. About legacy rooted in place.
Durant’s legacy? It’s written across the league.
And maybe that’s the point. He might not get a statue in any one city-but his imprint is everywhere.