Kevin Durant didn’t leave much room for debate when Boardroom asked him to name the best team he’s ever played for. He went with the Brooklyn Nets, and that choice left the Suns out in the cold.
For Phoenix fans, the omission probably didn’t land as a shock after how things unraveled there. And while the Golden State Warriors might also have expected a nod, Durant made his pick without hesitation.
The Suns, though, do have a case if the question is being asked in the “on paper” sense. Chris Paul was still in town when Durant arrived, but he was soon replaced by Bradley Beal. Beal’s Phoenix stint ended up going sideways, but the résumé that brought him there still mattered: a multiple-time All-Star who had averaged over 30 points in two different seasons.
There was more talent around Durant too. Deandre Ayton had been the No. 1 overall pick, and even after Ayton was gone, the roster still featured prime Devin Booker along with useful pieces like Grayson Allen and later Collin Gillespie. The issue for Durant is that the Suns’ best version is easier to see when you blend different seasons together than when you look at any one roster on its own.
Still, Durant didn’t offer Phoenix much love when he was weighing his top teams.
At 37, he could have reached the NBA Finals with the Suns, but that still wouldn’t have changed his answer here. The front office even tried to trade him behind his back at the deadline before he was eventually sent to the Houston Rockets, though they did honor his wish by not shipping him back to the Warriors.
Phoenix also had to work under the second apron, and that made life harder for both Durant and Booker. The Suns weren’t signing Keita Bates-Diop, Chimezie Metu, and Drew Eubanks because they were loaded with options; those were the players they could afford in that stretch.
And beyond the roster math, the fit never quite clicked. The vibe in Brooklyn was different.
Kyrie Irving is one of Durant’s closest friends, and he had already played with James Harden. That made the Nets the obvious choice for him, even if that group, too, fell short of expectations.
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Kevin Durant Just Reopened A Brutal Debate About His Suns Run
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The most difficult part for Suns fans is how quickly the window closed on the Durant-Booker-Beal era, with the partnership never delivering the breakthrough the franchise was chasing. Phoenix did at least recoup real value in the deal, landing a top ten draft pick along with Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks, but the lingering question around Durants Suns tenure remains the same one that followed him out the door. [Read more 🡒]