OKLAHOMA CITY – While the Oklahoma City Thunder’s championship run came to an end against the Golden State Warriors on Monday night, the team is reflecting on its accomplishments this year.
After a devastating loss to the Warriors in Game 7, the team returned to Oklahoma City on Tuesday afternoon.
Less than 24 hours after landing at Will Rogers World Airport, the team addressed the media.
Thunder head coach Billy Donovan was the first to speak, saying that while the season ended quicker than they would have hoped, they will use this experience to improve.
“You have to endure this to take another step,” Donovan said.
The Thunder organization endured a lot this past season.
In February, the wife of Thunder assistant coach Monty Williams was killed in a car accident in southwest Oklahoma City.
In March, Monty Williams announced that he was taking time away from the Oklahoma City Thunder in order to focus on his family.
On Wednesday, Donovan said that Williams will not return as an assistant coach for the team.
Donovan also said that he is not planning on making a ‘pitch’ to keep Kevin Durant with the team.
With the season over, Durant’s future is on the mind of every Thunder fan.
Durant will be a free-agent next season and is being pursued by almost every team in the NBA.
According to ESPN, it would make the most sense financially for Durant to sign a one year deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“I’m very proud to be part of such a group that fought for each other every night, sacrificed and were great teammates throughout the whole season,” Durant said.
When asked about his future, Durant says he hasn’t made a decision on where he will go.
However, he said two of the most important things to him are “great people” and being in a “great basketball environment.”
“I love my teammates here. I love playing basketball here, so that’s what’s important to me. Obviously, winning a championship is what we all want to do but at the same time, you want to be around good people. You want to be in a good environment, good coaching. That’s what’s most important,” Durant said. “I love my teammates here. I love playing basketball here, so that’s what’s important to me. Obviously, winning a championship is what we all want to do but at the same time, you want to be around good people,” Durant said.
He says he is not the type of person to take multiple trips to cities to hear pitches from teams, similar to what LeBron James did when he was a free agent.
Durant says that he will always remember the support he received from everyone through the ups and downs.
“I’m learning so much about myself by being here, as a basketball player and a man. I’ve been though a lot of different experiences in this city and it’s something I’m always going to remember,” he said.
On Wednesday, he said he loves the fans here and wants them to respect his decision, adding that he plans to keep it within a close group of friends and family members.
At this point, he says he just wants time to reflect on this season.
“It may seem like I’m not talking, I’m not giving information, but I’m just really trying to make sure that I tie everything up properly and make this thing right,” Durant said.
He says it is too soon to talk about a new deal and hasn’t even figured out the logistics of a one-year deal compared to a multi-year contract.
He says it is tough to talk to his teammates about his future and figure out what he really wants for himself.
When asked about his teammates, Thunder guard Russell Westbrook is the first to come to mind. The pair are a dynamic duo on and off the court.
He says Westbrook hasn’t put any pressure on him and is just being his friend.
On Wednesday, Westbrook also reiterated that he’s not going to talk to Durant about free agency, just saying that he is going to be his friend no matter what.
“Kevin is a guy that, obviously myself and including the other guys, we all want back here with the Oklahoma City Thunder. But at the same time, he needs to make a decision that’s best for him and what best fits him. Kevin, like I said, has always been like a brother to me, regardless of what happens. We’re all gonna be friends. Everything is gonna work out,” Westbrook said.
No matter his decision, Durant says that Oklahoma City has changed him as a person.
“The way we built this from the ground up. It’s a journey that we all took together, from the ground up. Sam [Presti] and I were talking and he was just like, ‘We started in a roller rink and we made it to the Western Conference Finals year after year. We made it to the Finals before. We have so many individual accolades that come through here, MVPs to First Team All-NBAs, to all this stuff that comes through here.’ Oklahoma City is just so much more known now. That shows how much the organization put the players first, put basketball first but also put the community and this whole atmosphere. We grouped it into our organization and made it one and kind of drove us to where we wanted to go. Just knowing that was the most, that’s what I’m so proud of, just to be a part of something that started really from nothing,” he said.
Durant says that he knows everyone on the team is going to work hard and come back better next season.
When asked what Oklahoma City has meant to him on and off the court, Durant said, “It’s home.”
