Former Thunder Kevin Durant Opens Up On Accomplishments Throughout OKC Tenure

On a new episode of Boardroom, former Thunder Kevin Durant harped on his early-career success and how he helped cultivate a new basketball city in the 405.

When Kevin Durant packed his bags and left Oklahoma City, it was a move that affected the city culturally in a sense. It ripped the heart of the city's soul.

If it weren't for Russell Westbrook leaning into the challenge and stepping up as Brockton's savior, the disdain toward Durant would've been even more radical than it already was.

Though since 2016, that sentiment and distaste for arguably the best Thunder of all time has definitely died down some. Time heals, and it's seemed to show Durant feels similarly. 

He spent the first eight years of his career here following the franchise's relocation from Seattle. He scored 16,491 points, 561 games played for OKC, and was the primary driver of creating a basketball culture in this city. It seemed that it already had the heart to become one, especially after seeing the Hornets relocate there for a brief stint due to Hurricane Katrina in 2005-06.

But Durant's superhuman talent and calm demeanor saw heaps of Oklahomans rally around him and take him in as their own.

On the latest episode of Boardroom, a media network founded by Durant and his agent, Rich Kleiman, discussed his tenure in Oklahoma City and reflected on how much he was able to accomplish. 

"I had never seen a connection like fans and players had like I'd seen in Oklahoma City," Kleiman said. "When I walked in, the people at the concession or the people were taking your ticket felt like they were your family."

"Yeah," Durant assured.

This type of praise isn't fabricated. It aligns with what Oklahomans call, "the Oklahoma Standard." Living by your community, friends and family, and that's what's helped curate a welcoming, inviting culture in the Sooner State. Even through all that's been said of Durant's character, he can still recognize that.

"It felt like a family loss, it was bigger than basketball," Kleiman added.

Durant went on to say how he understood that his departure would greatly impact the city, and the feelings about him, which led him to discuss how he helped cultivate a certain kind of culture throughout the city. 

"We really started that organization off," he said. "That's a testament to everybody there cause they built that family, we all did... this is who we are when we come to Oklahoma City.

"Everybody's rallying around us in the whole state, it felt that way... when I started to reflect on it, it was special what we did regardless of championships or not."

Him talking about this should immediately teleport you back to the Westbrook-Durant lobs, angling right to the game-winning threes in the corner, the camaraderie that all those teams seemed to carry. It was an amazing era, and without all the politics, it's essential to reflect and realize what one of the best basketball players of all time brought to this city. 

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