Throughout the league?s 77-year history, media houses have been known to highlight certain players and place them on a high pedestal. At the same time, they have also been accused of not giving due credit to players when they deserve it the most. One former NBA player who has been the advocate for this particular issue for quite some time now is Washington Wizards legend Gilbert Arenas.

From blaming the media for receiving a $50,000 fine back in 2010 to recently accusing them of ?tweaking? the result of the MVP Award, it is a known fact that Arenas is not a big fan of media organizations. Another example of the same recently emerged when the former player stood in defense of 2x NBA champion Kevin Durant.

Gilbert Arenas slams the NBA and the media for their portrayal of ‘Small Market‘ franchises

It all started a few hours ago when Arenas released another episode of his famed Gil?s Arena podcast. During the same, a topic of conversation was brought up about where LeBron James stands when compared to Kevin Durant. Co-host Rashad McCants highlighted that, at the end of the day, Durant will go down as the better player. He further stated that his opinion may not be the most popular one because the way that LeBron James and Stephen Curry are ?promoted? is at a much higher level than the Phoenix Suns star.

McCants expressed his disbelief over Kevin Durant not being seen as a ?top 3 all time? since the latter is an exceptional player. At this point, Arenas took the reins and placed his controversial opinion out in the open: ?Because the media killed off the legacy when he left.?

Through this statement, Arenas was highlighting Kevin Durant?s departure from the Oklahoma City Thunder after the 2015-16 NBA season. Arenas further claimed that the NBA and the media have built their main coverage around teams belonging to three main cities: Boston, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

?That’s cash cow,? said Arenas. Since Kevin Durant is part of a ‘small market‘ team like the Suns, the former Wizards star believes that Durant is not being given the credit he deserves.

Kevin Durant faced scrutiny from all sides after joining the Warriors

Being a part of the media himself, Gilbert Arenas certainly recognized a pattern that formed after Durant decided to leave the Thunder and join the Golden State Warriors. After taking his viewpoint into context, the author also will have to side with the same opinion.

After Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2016, a narrative started to form that Durant had chosen the easy way out. Various newscasters and analysts started to claim that Durant chose the Stephen Curry-led Warriors because they had earlier defeated Oklahoma and were coming off a record-setting 73-win season. He was branded a ?ring chaser?.

The wide field of media pundits criticizing the move contained a couple of prominent names as well. Amongst them was 76ers legend Charles Barkley. During a segment on ESPN Radio, Barkley stated that he was ?disappointed? with Durant?s decision to join the iconic team.

?Kevin is a terrific player, he?s a good kid. But just disappointed with the fact that he weakened another team and he?s gonna kind of gravy train on a terrific Warriors team,? said Barkley back in 2016. ?Because just like it meant more to LeBron to win one in Cleveland, it would mean more to Kevin to win one in Oklahoma than it would be in Golden State.?

Controversial media personality Skip Bayless is someone who has mostly been on the same side as the NBA player. In spite of this, Bayless didn?t hesitate to criticize Durant on Twitter back in 2016. While agreeing with KD’s decision, he threw shade at the player by stating that other prominent athletes like Michael Jordan would have never left their team to join forces ?with other superstars?.

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ESPN personality Stephen A Smith came out to say that Kevin Durant joining the Warriors was ?the weakest move? that he had ever seen from a superstar. All of the above points help to prove one thing. Even before Durant got a chance to show what he could offer to the Warriors, his legacy had already been blotched by a dark mark.

The Final Verdict

Kevin Durant went on to have a successful career with the Golden State Warriors. He led the team alongside Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to win two NBA championships. He was also named the Finals MVP both years. Despite all the success that he has achieved on the court, his legacy will forever be judged by how the media perceived his decision back in 2016.

Despite the fact that it has been 6-7 years since the league-shaking move, NBA fans and the media continue to attack Durant. It was only a year ago when Lakers legend Shaquille O?Neal brought up the issue once again. He claimed that Durant was ?the bus driver? of the Oklahoma team and that he abandoned them. He further claimed, ?If I knew it was okay to join people, f**k I would have joined the Bulls.”

Kevin Durant’s legacy, just like other basketball players, is a complex mixture of on-court brilliance and off-court decisions. The media’s role in shaping his departure from Oklahoma played a significant part in diminishing his overall legacy. Along with Arenas, the author also maintains this viewpoint. At the moment, Durant continues to excel with the Phoenix Suns. It remains to be seen whether the people and the media will appreciate his contributions to the game, without getting diverted by what happened in the past.

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Editorial Disclaimer:?The?views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of EssentiallySports.