Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant (52) guards Indiana Pacers’ Paul George during the USA Basketball Showcase game Friday, Aug. 1, 2014, in Las Vegas. AP
Kevin Durant’s departure from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Golden State Warriors still leaves a sour taste in most people’s mouths.
Over a year since his decision, the reigning NBA Finals MVP still relishes his time with the organization, as evidenced by him putting in a good word for the team’s newest dynamic wing player, Paul George.
READ: Paul George heading to Thunder, Griffin stays with Clippers – reports
According to Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated, Durant had nothing but kind words for his former franchise.
“KD was like, ‘That place will blow you away,'” George, who reached out to former Thunder players to get an idea of the franchise, revealed. ‘They can offer what other teams can’t in terms of the people and the preparation and the facility, down to the chefs and the meals.’
Contrary to the supposed animosity he has with some of his former OKC teammates, Durant made sure to praise the city he played for in his first nine seasons in the league.
“He was pretty high on them. He thought it was a first-class organization in every way,” George said.
Meanwhile, the former Indiana Pacers superstar also publicly addressed his change of teams for the first time.
“There’s no right way to handle it,” he told the news outlet. ”I get the frustration. I get why people are upset. But at the same time, I want the average fan to understand that we only get a small window to play this game and more than anything you want to be able to play for a championship.”
He added: “I love Indiana. That will always be a special place for me and I’m sorry for not holding on. But I wasn’t sure we’d ever get a team together to compete for a championship and that’s where all this came from.” Khristian Ibarrola /ra