Kevin Durant escaping Steph Curry and Warriors tanked his own legacy, analyst claims

On Tuesday, Kevin Durant scored his 30,000th career point — a feat accomplished by just seven other players in NBA history. Despite the magnitude of this moment, one analyst claims the "Silent Reaper" himself forever tarnished his legacy with a decision he made over five years ago.

On Tuesday's episode of "The Herd with Colin Cowherd," FOX Sports's Colin Cowherd claimed that KD made a huge miscalculation when he parted ways with the Golden State Warriors following the 2018-2019 season.

"Kevin Durant tanked his own career. He really did," claimed Cowherd. "At the time that he was at Golden State, half the people covering the league said he was better than LeBron...And then, he decided, 'I wanna go play with Kyrie in Brooklyn.' The hell?"

Cowherd also claimed that Durant made Steph Curry "look small" in Golden State and that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was "uncomfortable" with the Warriors's dominance during KD's three-year stint.

Colin Cowherd then compared Durant to LeBron James, saying that James was better than KD at making "business" decisions that benefited his basketball career:

"LeBron is more like a Gordon Ramsay or a Jay-Z. 'I'm not a businessman, I'm a business, man,'" said Cowherd, quoting a Jay-Z lyric. "Kevin Durant is more the artist who, halfway through the tour, cancels the tour, sues Ticketmaster, and gets into a fistfight with his drummer."

The FOX Sports host summed up his opinion by saying that, unlike James, Kevin Durant could not "compartmentalize" his business from his art.

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Insider: Kevin Durant likely traded after the 2024-2025 season

While Cowherd commented on a decision by Durant back in 2019, an NBA insider projected his near future.

On Wednesday's episode of ESPN's "Get Up," Brian Windhorst claimed that KD would not be playing for the Phoenix Suns much longer:

"He's probably going to get traded this summer," Windhorst said. [3:50 onwards] "He knows it, the Suns know it, the rest of the league know it. They're going to enjoy him while they have him. It's not really controversial in all honesty."

As the trade deadline approached, speculation arose that the Suns might part ways with Durant, which displeased the 15-time All-Star. Windhorst's assertion supports the idea that Kevin Durant might be on the move again in the offseason of 2025.