The summer of 2016 saw one of the biggest moves in recent basketball history, as superstar Kevin Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder to join the stacked Golden State Warriors.

Before KD’s controversial decision captivated NBA fans worldwide, the initial overwhelming reaction was an utter sense of surprise. This feeling even echoed among Durant’s former Thunder teammates, including Steven Adams, who addressed it in his autobiography.

“I hadn’t really been keeping in touch with any of the Thunder crew, because the first month of the off-season is log-off mode…I took that month very seriously and used it to relax at home and remember that basketball isn’t everything. I understand why KD did what he did, although I might have done it differently,” Adams wrote in ‘Steven Adams: My Life, My Fight.’

KD’s departure was ‘shocking’

As has become customary nowadays, the big man Adams remembered he got the news like “everyone else on the team” – through his phone.

‘I think Nick [Collison] sent a message in the group chat. Everyone was shocked,” he recalled.

Adams and his teammates were surely stunned, given that just months prior, they had stood alongside the exceptional forward Durant in the 2016 Western Conference Finals. Despite leading 3-1, OKC ultimately fell to the Warriors 4-3. Nevertheless, the young and talented Thunder team seemed poised to simply run it back.

“We knew we had a championship team. Why mess with it? But of course, that’s when KD left to join the very organization that had beaten us,” wrote the ‘Big Kiwi.’

Adams kept his cool

To this day, this point shades Durant’s move to the Dubs negatively, with critics citing it as ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’ and thus questioning his competitive spirit. Kevin’s decision to join forces with stars like Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, Klay Thompson, and then-reigning MVP Stephen Curry seemed like one of the easiest paths to a championship ring. Yet, Adams regarded the move with ambivalence.

“Winning a championship ring is more important to some players than others. For me, as long as I can keep improving and developing as a player, I’m happy. And it helps when I know I’m surrounded by good people who feel the same. Plus, I couldn’t handle the snake comments,” he emphasized.

While the ‘Slim Reaper’ continues to face such remarks online, he ultimately secured back-to-back titles in the Bay. Adams, on the other hand, left the Thunder in 2020 without a title and hasn’t found success in subsequent stints with the Pelicans, Grizzlies, or Rockets.

However, the New Zealander, known for his cool, calm, and collected demeanor, doesn’t appear to hold much regret regarding KD’s departure from the franchise that had placed great trust in him. While another former Thunder teammate, Russell Westbrook, was rumored to harbor deep resentment towards Durant years later, the ‘Big Kiwi’ chose not to become entangled in such affairs.

“I was a bit bummed for a day about KD, and then I got back to enjoying my offseason,” Adams mentioned casually.