RAMON ALVARADO

I’m Kevin Durant. Y’all know who I am.

Kevin Durant smiled after he pushed Patrick Beverly to the floor and stood over him in game one of the Warriors-Clippers first round matchup. KD ended up getting ejected, but he didn’t look angry or frustrated for a moment. His actions and attitude were a result of him being fed up with his season-long frustrations with the media… and probably his frustrations with his team, too. Now, we’re getting KD: UNLEASHED.

Way back in November, Durant and Golden State teammate Draymond Green made headlines together after Green apparently told Durant the Warriors “don’t need you.” Reports also said Green called Durant a “b***h” in the process.

The incident was quickly swept under the rug within the organization, and the Warriors breezed into the first seed of the western conference playoffs. The media has been all over Durant ever since, though.

It’s easy to forget the altercation between KD and Green with the way the Warriors finished the regular season. But Golden State has only done what’s expected of them.

A couple weeks before the playoffs began, KD got ejected from a game against the Denver Nuggets while his team was ahead 21 points. A no-call on an attempted three triggered Durant and he called official Zach Zarba a “b***h a** m*****f*****.”

Fast-forward to Durant’s ejection in game one against the Clippers, and we still see Durant’s loose emotions. He’s more at peace now, though.

Durant actually enjoyed his feud with Patrick Beverly. After game one, Durant calmly told reporters Beverly “grew up and was raised in Chicago” and “those dudes play with a different type of grit, so I can appreciate that about Pat.”

KD and Bev continued to jaw at one another in the first round series, but they displayed slight signs of respect throughout and hugged it out after the final game of the series. Nothing has really angered Durant the way referee Zach Zarba did a few weeks prior.

Durant’s season-long frustrations have less to do with the players he’s pitted against, and more to do with the people surrounding the game: the refs, the media; the fans might might have something to do with it, too.

The media has buzzed about Durant’s about upcoming free agency and his relationship with teammates, coaches and management all season long.

KD went off on reporters in February, telling them they ask questions to “get fans riled up,” and he doesn’t talk to any of them because he doesn’t trust any of them.

None of the buzz behind Durant and his upcoming summer has silenced, and Durant seems to be the only Warrior whose words make any headline no matter the game.

On Monday, April 22, Durant found himself in that position again after proclaiming the NBA media can’t move on without him.

They need me. If I wasn’t a free agent, none of this s**t would go on, right? None of this speculation about who I am, what’s wrong with my mental, why I’m miserable, why I ain’t happy with life. Nothing.

NBA and sports media members everywhere gave their take on Durant’s words.

Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe talked about how the media doesn’t need Kevin Durant at all on Fox Sports’ Undisputed. Skip and Shannon mentioned that no player before KD has stopped sports media from continuing on, and he surely won’t.

That is true, but the two Undisputed frontmen are taking what Durant is saying too literal. Surely Durant isn’t going to stop the news cycle, but he is giving these weekday sports talk shows something to fill their air time with.

Former NBA player and champion with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Richard Jefferson has some history with Durant from the Finals’ series against the Warriors. He had a lot to say about KD’s current relationship with the media after bringing up the pressure Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and LeBron James have had to face.

If you want that ‘Best player, I’m going to be the guy to hold this league down the next five years’ (title), you need to be able to handle this better than how [Durant] has. We need you, the game of basketball needs you to be better at this.

from ESPN’s The Jump

Jefferson wants Durant to “be better” at something Kevin Durant has no interest in, though. Durant doesn’t want to be the hero of the NBA, or the good guy who gives the media all the just answers.

He might’ve wanted to be that at one point, but Durant threw that all away when he chose to join the Warriors. The reveal of his burner account in 2017 showed NBA fans that KD felt his decision to join the Warriors was fully justified. Looking back now, was it not?

Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City have yet to win a playoff series since Durant’s departure. Westbrook isn’t looking like a superstar that could lead a team to a championship, either.

This was shown all season long and in the Thunder’s playoff series with the Blazers. If the Thunder wanted to win, Paul George had to be their best player most nights.

Durant left the position Paul George is in for a spot on a dynasty. Whether you think it was the easy way out or not, KD had to work for the two championship rings and the two Finals MVP trophies he has.

All things aren’t shining in Golden State. The early season altercation between Durant and Draymond Green, and Durant’s growing disinterest in his teammates are pointing towards KD’s departure in the offseason.

There’s been rumors everywhere and all year long suggesting Kevin Durant wants to join the New York Knicks in the summer. The media has questioned whether Durant has the guts for a city like New York.

When discussing Durant’s “they need me” comment on ESPN’s First Take, Max Kellerman suggested that KD looks into joining the Nets rather than the Knicks.

Kellerman said Durant wouldn’t be able to handle all the turmoil surrounding the Knicks franchise at the moment and it would be a bad decision for Durant to go there. But Stephen A. gave the perfect response, the same response I was thinking.

Kevin Durant can handle what the hell he wants to handle. It’s that simple… He’s a basketball player. If he’s irritated, but he goes out and drops 40, I think that’s handling things quite well.

That perfectly sums up what NBA fans and the media need to know. Kevin Durant’s a basketball player: an emotional one who has made decisions based on what’s best for his basketball career.

He’s not always going to give the media what they want to hear, he’s not always going to give the fans what they want to see. He’s going to be Kevin Durant and do whatever Kevin Durant wants to do. At the end of the day, he’s going to lace up his kicks and ball at an all-time level.

We saw what a absolute killer Kevin Durant is in the Warriors game six matchup with the Clippers. KD’s said in the past that he can get any shot he wants at any time he wants, and it was evident Friday night.

It looked like KD was practicing his pull-up shot from behind the arc in the first half. He shot over all the Clippers like they weren’t even there, and sliced through them when he wanted to.

Durant netted 38 points while shooting 12/17 from the field and 4-8 from deep. He dropped a 50 burger on the Clippers when it was all said and done.

In the post-game press conference, Patrick Beverly and Lou Williams were asked if there’s anything else they could do to stop Durant. They could do nothing but joke it.

I mean, he’s Kevin Durant, we didn’t roll over. We didn’t just say, ‘cmon and give us 50 tonight,’ of course not. He’s a hell of a player. The shots he took… he took some tough shots.

Patrick Beverly

Next on KD and the Warriors’ plate is a rematch of last year’s western conference semis with James Harden and the Rockets. Harden’s averaged 36.1 points during the regular season and continued to irritate defenses in Houston’s series with the Utah Jazz.

The Rockets closed out the series in five games, days before the Warriors finished theirs. Harden and the Rockets pushed the Warriors to seven games last year, and that was without Chris Paul for a couple of them.

The Warriors have been a tier above everyone else since Durant joined the team, though. They’ve been a tank. A Death Star. An Infinity Gauntlet.

Some analysts said they looked vulnerable after game five, then Durant used the power stone to crush the Clippers in game six.

Sometimes you come across special people… he’s an all world professional, and he’s proved himself… who he thinks he is himself… and you tip your hat off to a guy like that.

Lou Williams

Sure, the Rockets may have as good a chance to be the Warriors as anybody, if not a better one. But Durant is playing like he’s fed up with everything now and he’s ready to do what he has to do to finish this season with ring and Finals MVP number three. He’s already swayed many people that’s he’s the new best player on the planet.

No matter what happens with the rest of Durant and the Warriors’ season, Durant will remain all over headlines and social media feeds. This offseason he’s going to make another decision that’s best for himself. NBA fans will either love it or hate it, and just about everybody will head to Twitter to give their opinion.

Just remember when you mention Kevin Durant, you put some respect on his name.