Kevin Durant — the biggest name in this summer’s NBA free agent class — has decided to sign with the Golden State Warriors.
The decision was announced on The Players’ Tribune, a media platform used by athletes to tell their own stories.
The 27-year-old Durant is listed as a “Deputy Publisher” for the website.
According to reports, Durant had narrowed his choices to the Golden State Warriors and the Thunder. That made for interesting timing, as the Thunder came up just short of reaching the NBA Finals this year, blowing a 3-1 series lead in the Western Conference Finals against the Warriors.
This is the most frenzy surrounding an NBA free agent decision since LeBron James announced in 2014 that he would return to the Cleveland Cavaliers after spending four seasons with the Miami Heat.
Durant, who won the NBA MVP award in 2014, was third in league scoring this past season with 28.2 points per game. He also has been selected to the US Olympic men’s national team for the Rio Games.
Durant had played for the same organization his entire career. Coming out of Texas, he was the No. 2 pick of the 2007 NBA draft by the Seattle SuperSonics. The team moved to Oklahoma City and was renamed the Thunder starting in the 2008-2009 season. The Thunder reached the NBA Finals in 2012, losing to the Heat in five games.
In November 2015, Durant posted to The Players’ Tribune when he came back from a foot injury and revealed some insight about how he thinks.
“It’s been in Ohio as early as the mid-1850s at least, brought in as an ornamental plant because of its unique foliage and white flowers,” Gardner said. “It was actually planted in people’s landscaping, and it has been spreading.”
“I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about the future,” he wrote. “It takes you away from the moment you’re in. I don’t concern myself too much with the past, either. It’s good to learn from it, but if you dwell, you could rob yourself of the focus you need to do the work that’s right in front of you.
“My job is to play ball. My job is to support my teammates and make them better. My job is to help my team win, not tell the future.”
This story is developing. More to follow.