When Kevin Durant finally enters free agency this summer, the Washington Wizards are expected to be one of his foremost suitors.
It makes sense, after all. Kevin Durant was born in D.C. and attended high school in Maryland. His return would have a “Hometown kid saves local sporting organization” feel. It’s enough to make people who aren’t necessarily rubbing onions all over their body well up with tears.
That’s why the Oklahoma City Thunder’s matchup against the Wizards on Wednesday night was, prior to tipoff, portrayed as important. This was a time for Wizards fans to break out their custom-made jerseys, a time for them to cheer and extoll Durant in a way he would remember, even if he thought the mere notion of premature fan courtship was disrespectful.
And, well, as the Wizards fell to the Thunder 125-101, their fans did not disappoint.
Oh, wait. That’s right. It seems they did disappoint.
From ESPN.com’s Royce Young:
Instead, D.C. native Kevin Durant’s return to play the Washington Wizards was a dud, starting even before tipoff. There was an obvious lack of buzz in the Verizon Center, with Durant inconspicuously having his name called during introductions to only a very light smattering of applause.
There were only a few signs, one actually reading, “Stay in OKC, KD.” The only Kevin Durant jerseys were of the Oklahoma City Thunder variety, and there were plenty of them. There were no chants, no begging, no heckles, no blatant recruiting. Maybe the fans were just trying to be respectful. Except then they started booing when Durant got the ball, for some reason.
“Nah, I didn’t,” Durant said when asked if he heard the boos. “They were?”
He stopped for a second, cracking a little smile.
“I don’t care.”
If you expected this and you live outside Washington, you must be a seer. This is not how Kevin Durant’s arrival was supposed to go down. He was supposed to feel the love, the support, even the desperation. But he was instead treated like just another player, if not someone who Wizards fans went out of their way to ignore or belittle.
Maybe Durant’s pregame comments were just too much. He did basically call out the Wizards fanbase, after all. That type of take isn’t going to sit well with everyone, or even anyone. So maybe this was just the Verizon Center’s way of telling Durant, “Hey, we don’t need you. We’ll welcome you in with open arms if you decide to come, but we don’t need you to come.”
That, of course, isn’t true, but the sentiment stands.
Long before he can even officially spurn the Wizards, Kevin Durant, it seems, has ruffled the feathers of all of Washington.
