{"id":830254,"date":"2026-09-07T21:00:40","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T21:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/830254\/"},"modified":"2026-09-07T21:00:40","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T21:00:40","slug":"ex-thunder-guard-reveals-durants-betraying-text-before-warriors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/830254\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Thunder Guard Reveals Durant\u2019s Betraying Text Before Warriors"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"Oklahoma\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

OAKLAND, CA – MARCH 03: Kevin Durant #35 and Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder talk to head coach Billy Donovan during their game against the Golden State Warriors at ORACLE Arena on March 3, 2016 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Kevin Durant<\/a> made the most controversial free-agency move in NBA history when he left the Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a> for the Golden State Warriors<\/a> in 2016.<\/p>\n

Before he signed with the Warriors, Durant sent a chilling text to his teammates about possibly running it back with them in Oklahoma City in the following year. However, Durant did not come through with his tease and the Thunder were left disappointed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cKev left. Went to Golden State. Before that, he text me and Serge like, \u2018How y\u2019all think about bringing this thing back for one more year?\u2019 I was like, \u2018If everybody is on board. I\u2019ll come back. I\u2019ll do one year,\u2019\u201d Dion Waiters<\/a>, a former Thunder guard, said during his appearance on the Real Talk podcast by Miles Johnson<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Waiters, a key bench cog for the Thunder in 2016, said he was willing to sacrifice financial gain to run it back with the Thunder, then led by Durant, Russell Westbrook<\/a>, and Serge Ibaka<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI was willing to sabotage a four-year contract for one. To bring back that team. Because I\u2019ve seen how close we was,\u201d Waiters said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

How Kevin Durant\u2019s Decision Impacted The Thunder And The NBA World<\/p>\n

\"GoldenGettyOAKLAND, CA \u2013 JULY 07: Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors poses with his new jersey during the press conference where he was introduced as a member of the Golden State Warriors after they signed him as a free agent on July 7, 2016 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

In the 2016 playoffs, the Thunder were just one win away, and even led in the final quarter of multiple closeout games, from reaching the 2016 NBA Finals before blowing a 3-1 series lead against the 73-win Warriors, headlined by Steph Curry, Klay Thompson<\/a>, Draymond Green<\/a>, and Andre Iguodala<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Just over a month after the collapse, free agent Durant shocked the world by signing with the Warriors. Had OKC won just one more game and reached the Finals, it is widely believed Durant would have stayed with the Thunder.<\/p>\n

Durant\u2019s arrival turned a 73-win team into a juggernaut. The Warriors went on to make three straight NBA Finals appearances, winning back-to-back championships in 2017 and 2018, crushing LeBron James<\/a> and the Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Left alone in OKC, Westbrook went on a historic, vengeful tear as he became the first player since Oscar Robertson to average a triple-double over an entire season, winning the 2017 NBA MVP award and establishing himself as a beloved icon in Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n

It can be argued that Durant\u2019s move normalized superstars joining forces in free agency to guarantee rings, a trend that defined the late 2010s and early 2020s across the league.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, after Kevin Durant left OKC, Waiters signed a two-year deal with the Miami Heat<\/a> in July 2016. Waiters then won an NBA championship with the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> in 2020.<\/p>\n

Kevin Durant Reveals Why He Left The OKC Thunder<\/p>\n

\"OklahomaGettyLOS ANGELES, CA \u2013 DECEMBER 21: Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder celebrates his defense on J.J. Redick #4 of the Los Angeles Clippers<\/a> with Kevin Durant #35, Serge Ibaka #9 and Dion Waiters #3 and Andre Roberson<\/a> #21 during a 100-99 Thunder win at Staples Center on December 21, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Kevin Durant was frustrated about the OKC Thunder\u2019s roster composition, leading him to sign with the Warriors in the summer of 2016.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIn OKC, I played with a lot of athletes, I didn\u2019t play with a lot of skilled guys, shooters\/ball handlers. I was like I need a change \u2014 before the season even started. I was tired of having to be the only guy that can make 3s, make jump shots consistently,\u201d Durant said in All The Smoke podcast in 2020.\u00a0<\/p>\n

During that time, the Thunder had non-shooters such as Westbrook, Steven Adams<\/a>, and Andre Roberson on their starting unit, hurting the team\u2019s spacing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With the Warriors, Durant got the best shooting backcourt in NBA history with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.<\/p>\n

Durant is now a two-time NBA champion, but that 2016 decision is forever a caveat in his legacy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tRob Andrew Lo<\/a> Rob Andrew Lo is a writer at Heavy Sports and is covering the NBA. He has covered local, collegiate, professional and international sports in various sites. He was the sports editor of The Varsitarian, the official student publication of University of Santo Tomas, and a sports, entertainment, and lifestyle writer for Rappler.
\n
\nA Journalism graduate from the University of Santo Tomas, he has built his voice across both collegiate and international platforms, previously contributing NBA coverage to Fansided and Sportskeeda.
\n More about Rob Andrew Lo<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty OAKLAND, CA – MARCH 03: Kevin Durant #35 and Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":830255,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3786],"tags":[7,479,164,4025,4024,6,255],"class_list":["post-830254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golden-state-warriors","tag-basketball","tag-golden-state","tag-golden-state-warriors","tag-goldenstate","tag-goldenstatewarriors","tag-nba","tag-warriors"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/117231775303662974","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=830254"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830254\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/830255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=830254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=830254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=830254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}