The current Sun had some honest thoughts about returning to his old stomping grounds.
Dec 28, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) defends against Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) during the fourth quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images / Robert Edwards-Imagn Images
PHOENIX — The first half of the 2024-25 season has not treated the Phoenix Suns particularly well – as Phoenix sits at 11th in the Western Conference with a 26-28 mark.
There have been many reasons as to why the Suns have started out in average fashion – but All-NBA forward Kevin Durant is not one of them.
Durant is set to play in his 15th All-Star game on Sunday in San Fransisco – he notably called the Bay Area home for three seasons from 2016-19.
Durant won two titles and a pair of accompanying Finals MVP accolades in his time with the Golden State Warriors before leaving for the Brooklyn Nets in the summer of 2019.
Durant got reflective and honest about his thoughts on returning to the home of the Warriors over the weekend in a post-game chat with Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic following Wednesday night’s loss to the Houston Rockets.
“Hoping people can look at the big picture and see I got a couple of murals in that arena, in that concourse,” said Durant.
The potential for Warriors fans to not receive Durant warmly is certainly there, due to the means of his exit and blocking a potential trade back to his old home – although his point that he has etched a place in franchise history is very valid.
He’s very aware that the reception could be mixed as well, and is prepared for it – but made a final plea with fans to use the time to appreciate the great players suiting up instead of spreading negative energy:
“For a couple of days, I know it’s going to be hard, but for a couple of days, you can forget about how I left the Warriors or how I came to the Warriors or me not wanting to go back to the Warriors and just appreciate the weekend… appreciate the players that’s there and hopefully people can get off that (expletive) and just appreciate basketball.”
Durant will join fellow NBA legends in LeBron James, Stephen Curry and others on Sunday – it’s unknown how many more runs the trio of all-time greats have left, so fans should absolutely respect that.
At the end of the day, the All-Star game is designed to appreciate the elite talent the NBA has to offer – fans should appreciate this and focus on it.
As for Durant, his next appearance as a member of the Suns will be next Thursday in another spot that is special for him – Austin, Texas, where he played for the University of Texas for one season.