火箭球星凯文·杜兰特坦言对雷霆2025年夺冠的真实感受

Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant may have left the Oklahoma City Thunder a decade ago, but the former MVP still felt a sense of pride watching his former franchise and its community celebrate the 2025 NBA championship.

During a recent interview with ESPN’s Baxter Holmes and David Seronick, Durant opened up about watching Oklahoma City reach the mountaintop more than a decade after he helped establish the Thunder as a championship contender.

Durant said memories of Oklahoma City welcoming the Thunder home following their loss to the Miami Heat in the 2012 NBA Finals immediately came to mind when he watched the city finally celebrate a title.

“Most definitely. I mean, when we lost in 2012, we almost had like a small parade. So many people came and welcomed us back home and showed us so much love and congratulated us on a great season,” Durant said. “I knew at that moment, if the city ever wins a championship, the amount of people that’s going to show up for this parade and the energy they’re going to have for this parade is going to be insane.”

Durant spent eight seasons with the franchise after its relocation from Seattle to Oklahoma City. Alongside Russell Westbrook and James Harden, he helped transform the young Thunder into one of the Western Conference’s premier teams, culminating in their 2012 Finals appearance.

Kevin Durant sees Thunder’s 2025 championship as evolution of his era

Oklahoma City ultimately broke through in 2025 behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and a roster constructed by longtime general manager Sam Presti.

Durant admitted he wished his Thunder teams had been the ones to deliver Oklahoma City its first championship, but he views the current group’s success as an extension of the foundation his generation established.

“I wish our [Thunder] team could have been the one to do it because we were young and we showed we could,” Durant said. “But I felt the sense of pride of being an alumni of the Thunder, seeing this team win as well, because I felt that’s the evolution of what we did.”

Durant also praised Presti and Oklahoma City’s current core for taking that foundation further.

“I felt like Sam Presti hit his final form and figured out the best way for him to be. And Shai and Jalen Williams, I just felt like they all hit that mark, and we kind of laid the foundation on what it meant to be successful young players in this league, and they built upon that.”

Durant still has a soft spot for Oklahoma City

Durant’s relationship with Oklahoma City became complicated after he left the Thunder for the Golden State Warriors in 2016. His departure generated significant resentment among portions of the fan base, particularly after Golden State eliminated Oklahoma City from the Western Conference finals just months earlier.

Nearly a decade later, Durant spoke warmly about the organization and community that helped launch his career.

“It’s one of the most special things that I can say I’ve been a part of, man,” Durant said. “You don’t get to be at the infant stages of a lot of things and to see it blossom to where it is now.”

Durant said seeing longtime employees remain with the franchise made the championship particularly meaningful because of the organization’s longstanding emphasis on connecting with Oklahoma City and the state.

“To see that culture still going on today, on top of winning a championship and having a good opportunity to keep winning championships? Like I said, I have a sense of pride, man,” Durant said.

Now with the Rockets, Durant remains a Western Conference rival of his former franchise. That competitive relationship, however, has not erased his connection to Oklahoma.

“There’s still a little side of me when I play against these guys, I’ve got a soft spot in my heart for that state.”

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