By Shea Serrano • 4 min
Kevin Durant — as a player, as a person, as an idea, as a movement, as a totem, as a soon-to-be two-time NBA champion — is a curious proposition. So here are 70 (more) questions about him:
- Well, I guess here we are again then, huh?
- Because do you remember we had a 70 Questions About Kevin Durant article that was published on exactly this day last year when the Warriors went up 3-0?
- And so now it looks like we need another one since they’re up 3-0 again, doesn’t it?
- Except this one feels much different, right?
- It feels more … serious, doesn’t it?
- Or, at least more telling, right?
- Or am I just imagining that it’s that way?
- Things are somehow even more complicated now, aren’t they?
- Because Durant is about to win his second straight NBA title, isn’t he?
- And that should be a huge thing, shouldn’t it?
- But it doesn’t really feel like that, does it?
- It feels more like a “... meh” thing, doesn’t it?
- It feels less like a celebration and more like a “Well, duh, you’re supposed to win championships since you’re Kevin Durant and your teammates are the Warriors,” right?
- Is there a number of titles Durant can win that will force everyone—even his most ardent and relentless naysayers—to be like, “OK, Kevin’s rings are too numerous and bountiful to discredit anymore”?
- Two definitely seems like it isn’t enough, right?
- What about three?
- Would three do it?
- Or what if it’s three in a row?
- Would it mean anything if KD got three in a row when LeBron couldn’t?
- Does that matter?
- It matters, right?
- Because LeBron is the only guy in the league who KD is chasing, right?
- So what happens if he starts doing things that LeBron’s never done?
- Does that change things?
- Does that make Durant feel more substantial?
- Because clearly he’s one of the greatest players to ever play, isn’t he?
- People say that a lot, don’t they?
- And it’s impossible to argue now, isn’t it?
- Because he is obviously and definitely exactly that, wouldn’t you say?
- But has there ever been a player who’s been as good as Kevin Durant who possesses such little gravity?
- Has that ever happened before?
- Hey, how about this: What if KD wins four rings?
- Or, hey, how about this: What if KD wins five rings?
- Or, hey, how about this: What if KD wins six rings?
- Is that what he has to do to make all of this feel worthwhile?
- That’d make sense, wouldn’t it?
- He’s a historic player who joined a historic team, and so wouldn’t it make sense that they’d have to do something historic together for this all to feel like it was worth it?
- It’s hard to say, right?
- And isn’t this all a little unfair to Durant?
- Why are we all still so in our feelings about all of this?
- Why can’t we all just let him be?
- Do you think he’s just let himself be yet?
- Here’s another question: Do you think Warriors fans will ever love him the way they love Steph and Klay and Draymond and Iggy?
- Because it’s clear that they don’t, right?
- Did you see when C.J. McCollum was tweeting about exactly that during Game 3?
- Do you think KD spends a lot of time thinking about that?
- He has to, right?
- It feels like we know enough about him by this point to confidently guess that he spends a decent amount of time wondering why he’s not beloved like the other guys, right?
- You know what was a little odd to me?
- Do you remember in Game 3 when he hit that 30-footer in the final minute of the game that, for all argumentative purposes, won the game for Golden State?
- After he made that shot—the shot that all but secured another championship for him and for the Warriors—he looked … I don’t know … totally detached, didn’t he?
- Is “sheepish” the right word there?
- He looked sheepish, right?
- He looked like he knew that people were discrediting his masterful performance after each masterful moment?
- Or am I just projecting that onto him and actually he was just doing the extremely cool “I’m not impressed by any of this” face that only the uppermost level of basketball players can reach?
- Let’s assume that there aren’t enough titles he can win in Golden State for it to ever feel pure, shall we?
- Is there anything else he can do to get that feeling?
- Like, what if he leaves the Warriors, joins up with LeBron in Cleveland, and then they’re the two that take down the Warriors?
- Wouldn’t that feel great?
- Wouldn’t that feel big?
- Wouldn’t that feel redemptive?
- Would that reset his place in history?
- Or does he have go back to OKC and win there?
- Is that the only way?
- That doesn’t seem fair either, does it?
- Oooooh: Or is that actually going to be Kevin Durant’s legacy?
- That he eventually retires as the most unfairly judged superstar ever?
- What’s Kevin Durant supposed to do?
- Hasn’t he done enough?
- It’s a lot to think about, isn’t it?