Kevin Durant Explains Why Golden State Still Felt Like an Underdog Team

Nearly 10 years have passed since Kevin Durant made one of the most significant free-agent decisions in NBA history, leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder to join the Golden State Warriors. The move immediately shifted the balance of power across the league and created a team that many considered nearly unbeatable.

At the time, the Warriors were coming off a record-setting 73-win season and had already established themselves as a championship contender. Adding a player of Durant’s caliber to a roster led by Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green elevated expectations to unprecedented levels.

The partnership produced immediate results. Golden State captured NBA championships in 2017 and 2018, dominating much of the league during that stretch. Many observers believed the Warriors would have added another title in 2019 had injuries not disrupted their run.

Even years later, Durant’s choice remains a topic of debate among fans and analysts. While critics continue to question the decision, Durant recently offered another explanation for why joining Golden State made sense from his perspective.

1. Durant’s Unusual View of the Warriors

Durant recently reflected on his decision during an appearance on Barstool Sports, where he described the Warriors in a way many fans might find surprising. Rather than focusing solely on the team’s recent success, he looked at the franchise’s broader history. According to Durant, Golden State did not feel like a traditional powerhouse despite its rise during the mid-2010s. He noted that the organization had spent much of its existence outside the league’s elite tier and lacked the long-term winning reputation of some other franchises. Durant explained that he considered the Warriors an underdog organization when viewed through a historical lens. In his eyes, the franchise had not been a consistent championship contender for decades and therefore carried a different identity than teams with long-established legacies. That perspective helped shape his decision-making process. Rather than seeing himself join a glamorous basketball destination, Durant viewed Golden State as a franchise that had recently climbed to the top after years of struggle and inconsistency.

2. A Pattern Throughout Durant’s Career

Durant’s comments gain additional context when examining the teams he has chosen throughout his career. Unlike some stars who seek out the most historically successful organizations, Durant has often gravitated toward franchises with something to prove. After leaving Golden State, he signed with the Brooklyn Nets, a team that has long lived in the shadow of New York’s more established basketball brand. The move represented another opportunity to help build a contender rather than join a traditional powerhouse. His next major stop came with the Phoenix Suns. Despite periods of success and multiple Finals appearances, Phoenix entered Durant’s tenure without an NBA championship, making it another franchise searching for its breakthrough moment. Now with the Houston Rockets, Durant finds himself on a team that is attempting to return to prominence after several rebuilding seasons. While Houston has enjoyed success in different eras, the organization enters its latest chapter trying to reestablish itself among the league’s elite teams.

3. The Lasting Debate Over His Decision

Despite Durant’s explanation, many observers continue to view his move to Golden State through a different lens. The Warriors had just completed one of the greatest regular seasons in NBA history and had already won a championship before he arrived. Complicating the narrative was the fact that Golden State had defeated Durant’s Thunder in the 2016 Western Conference Finals after overcoming a 3-1 series deficit. For critics, joining the team that had just eliminated him amplified the controversy surrounding the decision. Once Durant arrived, the Warriors became even more dominant. Their combination of elite shooting, defensive versatility, and star power created a roster that many believed had few weaknesses. The championships that followed only reinforced the perception that the team was overwhelmingly favored. Durant’s recent comments do not erase those arguments, but they provide additional insight into how he viewed the situation at the time. While fans may continue to disagree about the decision, his explanation highlights that he saw Golden State through a broader historical perspective rather than focusing solely on its short-term dominance.