Thank you, KD

One day, many years from now, the Golden State Warriors will host a ceremony at the not-so-new Chase Center and immortalize the number 35 in the rafters of their San Francisco arena forever.

Kevin Durant’s era ended in heartbreak as he hobbled off the court with a torn Achilles in an NBA Finals series that his team would eventually lose, but his three-year run with the team is, undeniably, one of the best we’ll ever see.

Durant shocked the world on July 4th, 2016 by announcing that he would be leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder and joining the Warriors who, after winning a record 73 regular season games, lost Game 7 of the Finals just a few weeks earlier.

The decision didn’t feel real at first, especially for longtime fans of the organization whose patience was tested with every poor move and losing season.

I read and re-read his words on the Player’s Tribune — “I have decided that I am going to join the Golden State Warriors — over and over again and it didn’t start to sink in until he buried Team USA’s first shot, a deep three, in front of an Oracle Arena crowd that would shower him with love over the following three seasons.

From the moment he put pen to paper and signed his contract, Durant, the 2014 MVP, instantly became one of the best players to ever suit up for the franchise.

And over the next year, he became one of the greatest, further cementing his legacy as one of the game’s all-time significant players with his first championship; a title run that provided us with some of his finest moments, including an iconic three-pointer over LeBron James in Game 3 of the 2017 NBA Finals.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, a cosmic spectacle that requires everything to align itself perfectly to have a chance at happening.

Durant, an otherworldly once-in-a-lifetime basketball deity, forced the stars to align themselves again the following year, knocking down another three-point dagger in Game 3 of the NBA Finals from nearly the same spot on the same court to single-handedly will his team to victory.

With Durant, the Warriors were unstoppable; an unprecedented collection of talent that maximized themselves with chemistry and selflessness.

Over his three seasons, Durant climbed up the all-time leaderboard, surpassing some of the NBA’s most mythical figures, much to the chagrin of Twitter trolls and salty players, both former and active.

He was dominant, pushing himself to reach an even higher level by becoming a better playmaker and elite defender.

Durant averaged 25.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 5.4 assists on 52 percent shooting and 38 percent from three. During the playoffs—where he really showed just how special he is—he put up 29.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game.

It was disheartening to see such a genuine human being, a hard worker who just wanted to play basketball and win, become the league’s most hated villain, unfairly framed as a symbol for everything wrong in the modern NBA simply for exercising his free agency.

But he and the team embraced it, transforming the negativity they received into some of the best basketball we will ever see.

We were lucky to get to watch Durant go to work everyday, giving us the opportunity to closely marvel at a type of player that has never existed before and will never exist again.

A seven-foot alien with the skill of a guard and unreal ability to make a shot from anywhere on the court. Durant is a true student of the game, relentlessly studying it—both the history and the current league—and applying that unique understanding to his own approach.

Durant’s stint in Golden State was brief—probably too brief—but he gave the fans three incredible years with memories that will last forever.

Who could forget the excitement of his first game back in Oklahoma City, a dominant 34 point performance that sent the cupcake-fueled fans into an even more intense rage? Or his monstrous dunk over Kevin Love on Christmas Day? Or him not giving “a damn about no Drake night?”

He became even more dominant in the postseason, winning two Finals MVPs while outplaying his greatest rival.

And, just when people started to forget, he had to remind everyone that he’s Kevin Durant and that “y’all know who I am,” before dropping 45 and 50 points, respectively, in the last two games of their series against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Durant was, finally, earning the respect he deserved from fans and media around the league before a calf injury against the Houston Rockets sidelined him until Game 5 of the NBA Finals, a heroic performance that showed inspiring heart until it came to a tragic end.

He scored 11 points in 12 minutes while dealing with injury before the basketball gods betrayed him even more. To not play in weeks and come in with your back against the wall and produce like that against the eventual champions shows all-time mettle.

Durant is a Warriors legend, a bonafide superstar who fully committed himself Golden State’s pursuit of a championship. He deserves to be unconditionally praised and loved every time he steps foot in the Bay Area from now until the end of time.

It was an absolute joy to watch him play here.

At their best, the Hamptons 5 looked like the varsity team and the rest of the NBA was JV (at best). Durant and Stephen Curry made up one of the best duos ever, a connection that we all would have loved to see continue to dominate for another half decade.

Before Durant, superstars only joined the Warriors on 2K.

Before Durant, three-peats felt was never within the realm of possibility, a pipe dream that, somehow, he nearly made a reality.

Saying goodbye to KD hurts—especially when it feels like the team could have continued to make history—but he gave them everything, including a parting gift in the form of a sign-and-trade that netted the Warriors D’Angelo Russell.

Durant sacrificed his name to join them, helping bring two more titles to the Bay Area. He sacrificed his body and a year of his prime in pursuit of a third.

He’s a legend and we are all better off after seeing him compete at the highest level with this team.

Thank you, KD.

Have a speedy recovery; I can’t wait to see you dropping effortless buckets on the court again, even if it’s on the other side of the country with a different team.

And I can’t wait to see you come back for your jersey retirement, a well-deserved honor to celebrate one of the greatest ever.