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You Don’t Have to Forgive Kevin Durant, but You Do Have to Appreciate Him

HOUSTON — On this, everyone should be able to agree: Kevin Durant is responsible for the ongoing conversation about Kevin Durant.

Durant chose to leave Oklahoma City for a 73-win team. His decision ended a budding Thunder-Warriors rivalry before it really got started. He registered those burner accounts, liked all those tweets, and took those unnecessary shots at his former team. He joined a Warriors organization where he would never be as beloved as Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. He publicly ceded leadership duties to Curry. He taped those podcasts, bemoaned those “Blog Boys” and pushed back against analytics, even as his own game and team represent high-efficiency, high-IQ basketball.