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Kevin Durant’s Defense Of LeBron’s Move To The Sixers Suggests He Hopes It May Absolve Him Of His Warriors Sin

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Kevin Durant weighed in on LeBron's decision to join the Sixers


It’s already been a decade since Kevin Durant decided to join the Golden State Warriors, so perhaps the memory is beginning to fade (not to mention it’s also been *quite* the decade since 2016) — but the future Hall of Famer was absolutely lambasted for the decision among NBA circles.

In the Western Conference Finals the previous season, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook’s Oklahoma City Thunder blew a 3-1 series lead to the 73-win Golden State Warriors and lost the decisive Game 7.

Just over a month later, Durant announced he’d be joining the already-elite Warriors — his Players’ Tribute article announcing the move, titled “My Next Chapter,” since became a lasting meme — leading to accusations of ring-chasing. As The Washington Post put it when the Warriors took a 3-0 lead over the Cavs in the NBA Finals the following season, KD “violated the unwritten NBA code of alpha leaders.”

Kevin Durant defended LeBron James’ decision to join the Philadelphia 76ers by saying that all NBA players are chasing “rings, shot attempts, or money”

After he left the Warriors in 2019, Durant never found a permanent home as he spent roughly three seasons with both the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns before signing with the Houston Rockets last year.

Given his own history of ring-chasing, LeBron James’ forthright decision to do the same is obviously something that Durant not only weighed in on, but defended, saying that every player in the NBA is chasing “rings, shot attempts, or money.”

“Yall n—– be too emotional, how he moves is not gettin in your way at all..how u feel don’t change the truth about what he’s produced as a basketball player. U don’t know this man personally but have personal disdain like he really f—– your life up. U in too deep my boy,” Durant added on Threads.

Durant’s base point is, of course, true: what else is there for NBA players to play for other than winning, playing time, or a paycheck. But “ring chasing” is a specific term used for when a veteran player joins a ready-made contender team specifically to win a championship ring rather than build a team themselves. Not every NBA player finds themselves in a position to do that. Ben Simmons finished his career with the Nets and Los Angeles Clippers, for example — elite teams weren’t lining up to sign him for one or two more seasons.

Even if LeBron’s “ring chasing” did soften the sting of Durant’s similar actions, the two moves still aren’t the same. The Warriors had already had an NBA title under their belt before Durant joined, while he had yet to win a championship. The situation is reversed for LeBron, who has four NBA titles, while the Sixers organization last won it all in 1983.