WELCOME BACK TO THE NBA FINALS, KEVIN DURANT

June 1st, 2017 will live in the mind of Kevin Durant for the rest of his NBA career. It was more than the fact that his team, the Golden State Warriors won 113-91. Even deeper than the 38 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists that he provided his team. Game 1 of the NBA Finals could have been the start of Kevin Durant’s resurrection as the best player in the entire league. Durant, used his well diversified offensive game to send a message to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He scored off dunks (6 of them in the opening half), knocked down a few threes, used his well-known jumpshot to keep the defense honest and even had a moment where he stared down Pop Singer Rihanna after hitting a three in transition. The last 10 years have been a journey for Durant and especially the last 5 after making the 2012 NBA Finals where his team was defeated by another LeBron James lead team in the Miami Heat. In a post game interview with ABC’s Doris Burke, you can tell how much this moment meant for the 28 year-old Superstar. When she asked him the question about being on the floor in a finals game for the first time since he left the floor in Miami 5 years ago in tears, you could tell by his expression and he tone when he started to speak that he was embracing the moment fully. He was brought into Oakland to help the Warriors to do something they could not do last season, finish the Cleveland Cavaliers. No offense to Harrison Barnes or Andrew Bogut, but there is a reason why Draymond Green was in Durant’s ear all season long. There is a reason why Stephen Curry left the co-pilot seat open for him right after having one of the greatest 2 year single season stretches this league has ever seen. Durant brings the missing piece that the Warriors missed last year and is the ability to go one-on-one with any player on the floor and be dominate. One can only question who is a better one-on-one player than him in the entire world of basketball. In my opinion there is only one that has the pure offensive skill of Kevin and he hasn’t played a meaningful game in the playoffs since he wore powder blue and was “Bearlike” in his defense against Kobe Bryant in the Western Conference Finals during his cornroll wearing days. (That means you, Carmelo Anthony for those scoring at home) Yes, I could go into why he shouldn’t have left Oklahoma City and that fan base behind or how he should not have decided to wear a Golden State jersey. But after 38 minutes of brilliance from Durant, I think we now know why he decided to head for the Bay.