When Kevin Durant joined the Golden State Warriors in 2016 he sent a shockwave through the NBA. Many people still see Durant as one of the biggest snakes in NBA history because of this move. Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder lost to the Warriors in the 2015 NBA playoffs and OKC fans thought he would come back with a vengeance the next season. However, Durant decided to join the Warriors instead, seemingly leaving his former teammates in a lurch overnight. I was curious how the media covered this topic because, at the time, it was a very polarizing event.
Bleacher Report: Objective Coverage
Bleacher Report chose to cover general information about Kevin Durant’s offseason move. But this article did not just say “Kevin Durant joined the Warriors”, it also went in depth about what kind of teams were talking with Durant and who were the front runners at that time. The tone of this article was very objective and was void of excitement or anger. Bleacher Report published this article for the general NBA fan. Additionally, this article included Durant’s personal statements and other expert sources such as Adrian Wojnarowski. All in all, Bleacher Report did an effective job organizing general details of player’s meetings with teams into a very understandable timeline.
ESPN: A Warrior Welcome
Unlike Bleacher Report, ESPN focused on the future rather than looking at the past. The article starts with the announcement of Durant’s move. Then it dives into the actual deal including money, length of contract, and so on. It explains the reason why Durant came to the Warriors and what the Warriors offered to Durant. One big difference from other outlets was that ESPN included comments from the Warriors players about welcoming Durant to the team. This article emphasized how this move would impact the NBA. For instance, what OKC had to do after losing Durant and how Durant would fit in with the Splash Brothers—the already well-established backcourt of Steph Curry and Clay Thompson. Overall, this outlet was pretty objective in its coverage.
The Denver Post: The Super Team Debate
In a telling way, The Denver Post chose to run a syndicated Associated Press article rather than produce its own original piece. Still, the AP article was more of a moral-based one rather than speaking about facts and the deal itself. An interesting perspective for a newswire, no doubt.
This piece focused on whether it is right to form a “super team” within the NBA. Some claim that it is needed for players to win a championship. On the other hand, some argue that it takes the fun out of the game because of one team dominating the league. The author compared Durant going to the Warriors with Lebron James joining the Miami Heat in 2010. This outlet emphasized the importance and the impact of Durant’s move instead of talking about general information about deals or negotiations between players and teams. This article was aimed at more intense, core NBA fans.
The Guardian: An OKC Perspective
This outlet also talked about money, Durant’s statement, and how the Warriors could line up their players for next season. One main difference from other articles was that The Guardian touched on the OKC perspective. Most of the article focused on what Durant can bring to the Warriors, but The Guardian spoke to what OKC lost, how OKC felt about the move, and what they had to do to rebound for the next season. OKC fans were furious with Durant because he was considered disloyal. However, this article’s OKC section was very mutual about Durant. There was nothing negative and included a statement from OKC’s chairman saying “thank you” to Durant. This outlet was released to OKC fans that were furious at that time and other NBA fans around the world.
