LeBron James changed the landscape of the NBA when he made the ‘Decision’ to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers and join the Miami Heat, where he formed a superteam with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. That team went on to make four straight trips to the NBA Finals and won two Championships before LeBron decided to return to Cleveland in 2014. It goes without saying that the Heat struggled to fill LeBron’s shoes. But if there is one player who could have done that, it was Kevin Durant. Durant made a monumental move himself in 2016.
He joined the Golden State Warriors, teaming up with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. When healthy, that was pretty much an unbeatable combination of talent. There was a chance that Durant could have ended up in Miami in 2016. He even took the meeting. But ultimately, he picked the Bay Area over South Beach. Udonis Haslem believes that if Durant ended up in Miami, he would be constantly compared to LeBron and it would have been a frustrating situation for him. While speaking on the matter on The OGs Show, Haslem said: “That was also heels of Bron just leaving and I just didn’t know if KD wanted to deal with that.
Because everything he did was going to be compared to what Bron did when he was in Miami. Everything he did in Miami was going to be compared to what Bron did when he was in Miami. They were not going to let him live. It just would have been a frustrating situation for KD. So, I was happy he took the meeting, I was hoping it was going to work out, but in the long run, I really did not think that that was gonna be the time that he came to Miami. I just did not think so. Because I knew how it was going to be. He was going to be ridiculed and compared to Bron about everything.” Durant did not make things any easier for himself by joining the Warriors though.
It was seen as a ‘weak’ move by the media and fans alike. Curry, Thompson and Green had already won a Championship and came agonizingly close to going back-to-back before blowing a 3-1 lead in the Finals to LeBron and Kyrie Irving’s Cavaliers. It was Durant who had the last laugh though, winning two Championships during his time with the Warriors and being named the Finals MVP both times as well. Not only that but he did it against LeBron and the Cavaliers, establishing himself in the eyes of many as the best basketball player on the planet at that time. All things considered, the Warriors were simply the best option available to Durant in 2016. Would he have achieved as much if he had joined the Heat instead? Most probably not.