Kevin Durant DOES get a tribute video and a warm welcome from Nets fans as he makes his first return to Brooklyn after leaving for Phoenix… despite pleading for his old team to not honor him on big screen at Barclays Center
The Brooklyn Nets welcomed Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant back to the Barclays Center with a tribute video before their game on Wednesday – despite his pleas not to!
Durant spent three and a half seasons on the Nets roster before being traded to the Suns just before last season’s trade deadline.
He spent his first season in Brooklyn recovering from a torn Achilles tendon he suffered while playing for the Golden State Warriors before signing with the Nets.
Leading up to the game, Durant had asked the Nets not to honor him with a tribute video, but the team clearly didn’t listen to his request and continued with their plans.
The Nets played the tribute video just before Durant’s name was called during the lineup introductions, which has become the usual time for such videos to play across the league.
The Brooklyn Nets honored Kevin Durant with a tribute video before playing the Phoenix Suns
Durant kept a stoic expression during the tribute and had asked the team not to give him one
Durant’s time with the Nets ended with one playoff series win and two trade requests
Durant is known for rarely showing emotion and kept a stoic expression as he appeared unmoved by the video – before blasting his teammates after the PA announcer said his name.
When discussing why he didn’t want the Nets to give him a tribute, Durant shared AZCentral’s Duane Rankin: ‘I wasn’t there long enough. Me and the fans didn’t connect enough to make me feel part of them. Those are just my thoughts.”
He still mentioned that he ‘excited‘ to go back to Brooklyn.
Durant’s Nets tenure culminated when the trio of himself, Kyrie Irving and James Harden led the Nets to a seven-game win over the eventual champion Bucks in the second round of the 2021 playoffs, and things only got worse after his excellent performance. of 49 and 48 points in Games 5 and 7.
At the time, many fans made the argument that if Durant’s feet had been one shoe size smaller, the Nets would have won that playoff series after a crucial shot was ruled a two-pointer instead of a three-pointer after his foot hit the three-point mark. line of a few centimeters.