As always, Nike was ready as soon as the NBA Finals came to an end Monday night, releasing an ad sharply addressing Kevin Durant’s legion of haters.
KD won his first title, taking home Finals MVP honors along the way, and put to rest any debate about whether or not he made the right choice by joining Golden State last summer.
The 28-year-old superstar scored 39 points in the Warriors’ championship-clinching 129-120 victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Per the AP:
“I hear all the narratives throughout the season that I was joining, I was hopping on bandwagons, I was letting everybody else do the work,” Durant said. “But then that was far from the truth. I came in and tried to help my team. Like I said, tried to be myself, be aggressive and sacrifice as well.”
Durant came back late in the regular season from a 19-game absence with a left knee injury, then dealt with a tender calf early in the playoffs. Still, he insisted he had another notch to raise his game, and he certainly found it. He dramatically drove and dunked on Cleveland’s defense, knocked down big 3-pointers and blocked shots while handling the load of defending [LeBron] James.
Ten years after becoming the No. 2 draft pick behind Greg Oden, Durant has reached the pinnacle. Whenever he is asked about his own accomplishments, he is always quick to offer a reminder just as he did with a new NBA champions hat on his head: “It’s a team sport.” He can’t do it alone.
“I can’t believe it, but I have to,” Durant said recently of where he is after a decade. “I’m really proud where I am right now as a player and being as consistent every year as I’ve been. That’s something I talked about coming into the league, wanting to do it year in and year out. I’ve been able to accomplish that individually. But this is not an individual sport. So I’ve also realized that as far as becoming more of a team player, since my first year I’ve grown so much and I’m proud of myself in that area as well, but I’ve got a long ways to go.”
