It has been almost half a decade since Kevin Durant left the Golden State Warriors, but the surrounding discussion does not seem to end. The discussion mostly stems from hypothetical situations of what it would have been like if Kevin Durant never left GSW. Or how could GSW have achieved a 3-peat had KD not suffered from a ruptured right Achilles? Although Durant has stated his reasons for leaving the Warriors before, former NBA point guard Sebastian Telfair believes there was more to it.
“This is my opinion… Maybe because he was tricked into leaving Golden State. I was talking to my friends about that…,” the 38-year-old said, appearing on an episode of VLAD TV. Telfair further explained his belief stating KD would have never left Golden State himself, so it had to be a trick. The journeyman PG’s reference was towards the fact that KD was winning with the Warriors.
However, Durant had stated his reasons during a media interaction broadcasted by ESPN back in 2019. “I felt like it was time for a change. I wanted to play for a new team… Simply put, I just did it, I didn’t really think about what I was leaving behind or what we accomplished. I put that up on the shelf already,” the 2x NBA champ said. But it seems these reasons make no sense for Telfair.
On the episode of VLAD TV, he stated NBA Championships are rare, and the players who are in the bracket of achieving them care for them. So, as per Telfair, Durant leaving a player like Stephen Curry makes no sense. However, there were some issues within the team. KD’s infamous beef with Draymond Green received a lot of attention and was reported to be a major reason for the Slim Reaper walking away in free agency.
This whole discussion on Durant leaving GSW had emerged from the question of KD’s consideration in the GOAT debate. And more NBA Championships would have undoubtedly furthered his name in the debate.
What is Sebastian Telfair’s opinion of Kevin Durant not being in the GOAT debate?
Over the years, the GOAT debate in the NBA has mostly limited itself to two names—Michael Jordan, and LeBron James. Earlier this year, KD had raised the question of why he is not among the names in the GOAT debate. Based on this question by Durant, Telfair answered on VLAD if he believed Durant should also be in the conversation.
Telfair spotlighted maybe Durant feels ignored, but the fact is that he is the prototype for how all the kids are playing. “For Wemby and all these big guys out there. Like, KD is the first one. Like, I know Dirk was shooting, but KD came in shooting, dribbling… shooting threes at the seven-foot position,” he said. And this was the point where Telfair stated Durant feels this way because maybe he was tricked into leaving the Warriors.
