Despite his wishes to not receive one, the Brooklyn Nets played a tribute video for Kevin Durant ahead of his return to Barclays Center.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Kevin Durant tribute video from the Nets.
(via @SNYNets)
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) February 1, 2024
Primarily for the fact that the Nets did not win anything with Durant and his public trade requests during the situation, Durant had made it known he did not want a tribute video.
Yeah, lower profile guys get videos because there is no real stakes to their time with the team.
A superstar talent is obviously tied to results.
To be clear I think they do give him one for the PR of it all.
— Adam Armbrecht (@AdamArmbrecht) January 28, 2024
Durant was very speculative of the reception he would receive.
”It just depends on how people wake up that morning,” Durant said. “A lot of people don’t know what to say, or how to feel about me. It’s up in the air what may happen.”
Fans ended up reacting to the video with a warm applause for one of the greatest players in NBA history.
Durant signed with the Nets on June 30, 2019 along with Kyrie Irving. He got to Brooklyn by way of a sign-and-trade, four-year, $164 million deal that sent D’Angelo Russell to Golden State.
After missing one whole season recovering from an Achilles tear suffered in the 2019 NBA Finals, Durant ended having played 129 regular season games with Brooklyn, averaging 29.0 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists in these contest.
Overall, Durant was looking forward to the matchup.
“I’m excited, it’s always fun playing in Brooklyn, always fun playing in New York,” Durant said. “Can’t wait to see some of the people that I worked with, that I got to know over the last four years. New York City has become my favorite city in the world just from me living there for four years. I miss it a lot. I’ve built a lot of bonds and relationships with the people that actually work within the organization. Still talk to this day. I can’t wait to play in front of that crowd again and see all of my friends and family out there.”
Durant added: “I know people won’t believe it, but there was some fun, fun times playing there. Hopefully, people can look at some of the great moments we had there … People who follow the Brooklyn Nets, they understood what we went through and those little moments that we had and shared as a team that the fans rallied around.”
Durant is averaging 28.3 points on 53.1% shooting, 6.4 rebounds and 5.7 assists across 40 contests for the Suns (27-20) this season.
*Get the BEST Phoenix sports insider information, exclusive content, and access to our seasonal magazines! SIGN UP HERE to unlock our premium content!*
Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
