Draymond Green Reveals How Kevin Durant Came to The Warriors

Draymond Green recently revealed how Kevin Durant ended up on the Golden State Warriors
USA Today

Kevin Durant's decision to join the Golden State Warriors has been one of the most analyzed NBA topics of the last decade; however, how it exactly came to be has always been relatively unclear. There is the widely-believed story that Draymond Green called Kevin Durant crying in the parking lot, following Golden State's Game 7 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers; however, according to Draymond, that is not how it went down.

"We were on FaceTime actually when I was in the locker room, and we were just talking about the game," Draymond said. He went on to explain that Kevin Durant, like Draymond himself, is just a major fan of the game. This is what led to their initial FaceTime conversation in the locker room following that game; however, Draymond claims nothing about Durant coming to the Warriors was discussed on that call.

Draymond did reveal that there was a moment between him and Durant on that phone call where the two were seemingly on the same page about what needed to happen that summer, but the actual conversation did not happen until afterwards. While Draymond claims he and Durant never made anything official that night, he said, "Who I did call that night, on my way home, was Bob Meyers. 'Hey man, what do we have to do to get Kevin Durant?'"

As Draymond emphasized, Golden State's pursuit of Kevin Durant was no secret; however, it just didn't go down the way many believed it did. Another important point from Green, is that he has no regrets from the 2016 Finals. On his Game 5 suspension, Green said, "I don't regret it, because shit happens, and I learned so much from that. If we do win that series, I don't think we get Kevin Durant. And if we don't get Kevin Durant, I'm not sure our run would have continued."

While that collapse will always hold its rightful place in history, Draymond Green recognizes that Kevin Durant may not have come to the Warriors had they beaten Cleveland in 2016. Durant ultimately joined Golden State, elevating their dynasty to unprecedented heights, and that is what Draymond is most thankful for.

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Joey Linn
JOEY LINN

Title: Credentialed writer covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated's FanNation Email: joeylinn52@gmail.com Education: Communication Studies degree from Biola University Location: Los Angeles, California Expertise: NBA analysis and reporting Experience: Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined Sports Illustrated's FanNation to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams during his time in school. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts, combined with his excellence in the classroom, earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time across multiple platforms, primarily serving as a credentialed Clippers beat writer.