"I understood why people were pissed off" - Kevin Durant lists factors influencing his exit from OKC Thunder for Warriors

Things changed when Kevin Durant left the OKC Thunder in the summer of 2016 to join the Golden State Warriors. His departure broke many fans's hearts, as they thought he'd stay longer and lead the team to a championship. On Wednesday, Durant discussed his decision to leave in an appearance on the "Out The Mud Podcast" with former NBA player Tony Allen.

Durant had a bad breakup with the Thunder organization as he left them for the Warriors, the team that beat them in the Western Conference Finals. Many fans were frustrated with KD for choosing to play for Golden State. After all these years, however, the 14-time All-Star can understand why many people didn't like how he left Oklahoma City.

"People enjoyed having me around, simple as that," Durant said (36:25 onwards). "Me just leaving, just like that, we were close getting to the Finals. I understood why people were pissed off. But I couldn't make a decision based off what other people wanted to do.

"Majority of it is, I wanted a new experience, I wanted to play a different way, a different style. I wanted to live in a different city, experience a different life in a different city, that's all I knew was OKC. I wanted to play for a different management. I just wanted to experience life is like with a different organization."

Durant was with the Thunder for nine years [2007 (formerly Seattle Supersonics), 2008-2016 (OKC)] and was the face of the franchise the entire time. Together with Russell Westbrook, many expected the duo to bring the championship to OKC.

He was an All-Star for seven seasons with the team and led them to the 2012 NBA Finals. During his tenure with the team, KD averaged 27.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists on 38 percent shooting from deep.

Kevin Durant reflects on his time in Brooklyn

After playing for the Warriors, Kevin Durant found himself with the Brooklyn Nets. He formed a star trio with All-Star guards Kyrie Irving and James Harden. However, injuries plagued their time together and they couldn't make things work.

"Brooklyn was f**king with me, for sure. I liked it out there," KD said about his time with the Nets. "It looked good, too. It looked great, we just couldn't get on the court together. Injuries, COVID, all that stuff played a factor."

Durant played for the Nets for three seasons but was injured and limited to 129 games. The Nets's Big 3 also played only three playoff series together. In 2021, the farthest they led the team was to the second round against the Milwaukee Bucks. Unfortunately for Brooklyn, their star trio couldn't overcome the Bucks.

KD averaged 29.0 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists with the Nets.