What if? Naming Kevin Durant and Warriors in the same sentence raises a similar question. What if KD had stayed back? Would the Bay Area dynasty be going as strong as between 2016 and 2019? He established himself, on August 11, as the most decorated Team USA player. He has been the only player to win 4 Olympic gold medals in men’s basketball history. Still, he is not considered in the GOAT debate, which he thinks is due to him joining GSW. However, he could have excelled much further in the Bay. His mum, Wanda Durant, confessed an exaggerated truth that could have brought the NBA’s biggest glory to the Slim Reaper if he had stayed.

During an interaction with Stephen Curry‘s mom, Sonya, in the Raising Fame docuseries, Wanda confessed how big of a mistake Kevin Durant made as the Suns star left the Warriors in 2019. “Sonya, you and I, we were in the thicket together for a few years. I ain’t really want him to go either. We would’ve had 20 rings by now. And it was about 10 years ago. That’s how cold they were,” Mama Durant expressed her regret in front of Sonya, who couldn’t stop chuckling while thinking about the major ‘what if’.

Later, Sonya also confessed how Kevin Durant’s exit strained their relationship, stating, “We had a side-eye a couple of times.” After joining the Dubs in 2016, KD won two championships consecutively in 2017 and 2018. And that’s not the end of the story. The Dubs were on their way to winning their 3rd consecutive one, however, late into the second-round playoff against the Rockets, Durant strained his calf. And just when the team needed him, the Slim Reaper tore his Achilles late into the NBA Finals against the Raptors.

But the hope was there that Kevin Durant would return even stronger. Unfortunately, he chose a whole different route, as he went with the Brooklyn Nets to join his dear friend Kyrie Irving.

On the other hand, though Wanda seems to have regret over her son’s decision, Durant had none after all the controversy.

Kevin Durant revealed trying the “hardest” to salvage his bond with GSW before leaving

The Warriors already had many stars on board, like Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Stephen Curry. Ultimately, Kevin Durant’s addition to the roster was more of a luxury asset inclusion. That’s why he did not receive immense respect from the Dubs faithful despite being 2x NBA Finals MVP during his stint in the Bay. Also, other on-court and off-court incidents played a role in KD’s Warriors exit. Most prominent of them was his scuffle with Draymond Green because of a failed shot in a game against the LA Clippers.

The Suns star was not happy with the treatment he received thereafter at the Dubs camp. Dray did not mince his words and publicly went after KD and attacked his role-playing ability on the team. Durant later admitted that he didn’t have a problem with the argument but the way it was handled. “Steve Kerr acted like it didn’t happen. Bob Myers tried to just discipline you (Green) and think that would put the mask over everything.”

Kevin moved on with the Nets and then joined the Suns, however, his injury troubles have followed him around. He managed to cross the 75-game mark in his second season in Phoenix and it was the first time since his final year at the Warriors.

His most recent response about his Golden State tenure ending was when he said, “We didn’t have enough time together. That’s just it. Guys wanted to go their separate ways. We tried our hardest to, you know, salvage everything and everything together,” he said after declining to reflect on the ‘what ifs,’ asking his fans to focus on the reality of things.

As soon as KD left for the Nets, then fans were there to call the 2x NBA Champion greedy and turned him into a laughingstock. What do you all think? Was Kevin Durant right in prioritizing his self-respect as an NBA player? Let us know in the comments.

Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.