Kevin Durant’s time with the Warriors may have ended with a bit of drama, but it appears both parties believe the future Hall-of-Famer likely deserves to have his jersey retired by the franchise.
Durant spoke about comments made by Golden State CEO Joe Lacob who stated that as long as he was co-chairman of the Warriors that, “no other player will ever wear No. 35 for the Warriors again.” And in Durant’s eyes, his body of work with the Warriors warrants his No. 35 being retired, as he told Andscape's Marc J. Spears.
“He should. Look at the résumé. That would warrant me to get a jersey retirement, right? Do I want to be honored by a franchise I put work in for? Of course, I would love that,” Durant told Spears. “I had some great moments there. I built some solid relationships there. Yeah, man. Hell yeah, that would be sweet. I love that organization, man. I love my time there, seriously. Me leaving, people shouldn’t doubt that, because I left there.”
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It's hard to debate that Durant doesn't deserve it, although many compare the fact that he was with the Warriors for just three seasons against the likes of long-tenured stars like Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. Durant helped lead the Warriors to two titles in three seasons while falling just short of a third consecutive title in the process.
Durant, who played in 208 games for the Warriors, averaged 25.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5.4 assists and shot 52.4% from the field during his tenure in the Bay Area.
