In the recently expanded NBA playoffs, 16 teams entered the tournament and 8 currently remain. Many analysts and fans alike have celebrated the parity of this year’s tournament as only the Phoenix Suns have truly separated themselves from every other team both in the regular season and in the playoffs in terms of a win-loss record. Bracket seeds were often only separated by three games or fewer.

After the opening round, there have already been some surprises, such as Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets being swept by the Boston Celtics, with Durant only shooting 38.6% overall from the floor and 33.3% on three-pointers. This is a major downgrade from his performance in the playoffs last year. Shawn Powell from NBA.com stated, “It was stunning to behold, and this is no disrespect to the Celtics’ defense, but Boston certainly didn’t show Durant something he never saw before. And so, since trading Steph Curry for Kyrie — has anyone heard a satisfactory reason why he did so? — Durant is ringless.”

The Dallas Mavericks began the playoffs with an injured Luka Doncic, but since his return after a three-game hiatus, he is averaging almost 30 points. Jalen Brunson stepped up in his absence and will likely be signed following the postseason as he has proved his worth as a free agent. The Mavs and their series against the favorite Phoenix Suns will continue to heat up as a winner is decided by the weekend. 

Many analysts have praised the confidence that the younger generations of NBA players have shown in some of their first playoff experiences. Powell stated, “There’s an understandable learning curve and amount of jitters that come with making your playoff debut, but you couldn’t tell that this year. A handful of young players, barely out of their teens, seemed right at home, in fact, in the heat of the postseason. In other words: There was no need for them to wear sunglasses because the lights were too bright.” He went on to specifically highlight Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies and Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves and how they’ve handled the spotlight. 

Despite a Lebron-less playoff, there are still some heavyweight MVPs that have proven that the path to the championship is far from easy. Steph Curry and Golden State, Joel Embiid and the 76ers, and Chris Paul and the Suns are all coming off MVP caliber seasons, only adding to the parity of this year’s playoffs.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jayson Tatum are currently going head to head in the conference semi-final round. Both are regarded highly for their playmaking abilities but Giannis is the defending champion and MVP. However, this has not distracted young star Tatum in his determination to get to the title. “[They’re the] defending champs, they’ve been there before, they’ve gotten the job done,” Tatum said of the Bucks. “Obviously, it’s going to be a great challenge. I’m just looking forward to it. It’s [going to] be fun,” Tatum said in an interview with NBA.com.

The conference semi-final round is shaping to wrap up by next week where only 4 teams will remain in the NBA 2022 playoff. 

Fox news host Laura Ingraham’s response to these comments about President Trump was less than positive, calling the statements “ignorant.” Ingraham added that the two players shouldn’t “run their mouths like that” because of their influence on young minds, citing their lack of education. James finished high school early for the NBA, and Durant completed a single year at the University of Texas before entering the league. Ingraham encouraged the two league ambassadors to “keep the political commentary to yourself… shut up and dribble.”

The reaction to Ingraham’s response by the basketball world was swift and unifying.

James thanked the host, saying “So, thank you, whatever her name is. … I get to sit up here and talk about what’s really important and how I can help change kids, it lets me know that everything I’ve been saying is correct for her to have that type of reaction, but we will definitely not shut up and dribble, I will definitely not do that, I mean too much to society, I mean too much to the youth, I mean too much to so many kids that feel like they don’t have a way out and they need someone to help lead them out of the situation they’re in.”

James furthered this sentiment by likening himself to former outspoken African American athletes like Muhammed Ali, Bill Russell, Jim Brown and Jackie Robinson.

“We know it’s bigger than us, it’s not about us… this is bigger than me playing the game of basketball,” he said.

Durant insisted that he and other professional athletes have an obligation to use their platforms to incite positive change in the world.

“We’ve got to speak what we believe in, we’ve got to speak our truths and we’ve got to keep it real out here,” he said.

Many in the NBA came quickly and voluntarily to James and Durant’s defense against Ingraham and those who agree with her. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver released a statement praising them for speaking out on the issues important to them and their responses to Ingraham’s comments.

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, a five-time NBA championship coach who has not been shy in speaking out on issues he feels are important, criticized Ingraham’s comments and praised James for speaking out. Popovich called the Fox host’s comments “an unbelievable show of arrogance” while comparing James to the Marvel comics hero Black Panther. The recent movie release has inspired many African American outspoken personalities, particularly those in the sports world.

James’ best friend and former teammate Dwyane Wade also spoke out on Ingraham’s comments. Wade is a career leader in nine different statistics for the Miami Heat, has won three championships with and has played for the team for almost 14 of his almost 15 seasons in the NBA. He is objectively one of the greatest, if not the greatest, player to ever wear a Heat jersey. After the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting Feb. 14, one of the victims, Joaquin Oliver, was buried in that very jersey. Wade used this particularly personal instance as an example, saying “this is why we will not just SHUT up and dribble” via Twitter Feb. 26. The next day, Wade hit the game-winning jump shot over Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers while wearing shoes with Joaquin’s name on them, and his family sitting courtside.

Photo courtesy of Bleacher Report

Cover photo courtesy of nydailynews.com

Durant was a superstar on the Thunder. In 2012, he led them all the way to the NBA Finals, only to be beaten by the Miami Heat. In January 2014, Durant averaged 35.9 points per game all while scoring 30 or more points in 12 straight games. This included a career-high 54 points against the Golden State Warriors.

In Durant’s final seasons with the Thunder, he had many career setbacks. He was diagnosed with a Jones fracture, he injured his ankle and he had to undergo foot surgery. But Durant still showed the world that even though he had many reasons to give up, he was the best.

During his final season with the Oklahoma City Thunder he averaged 28.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and five assists, leading his team to 55 wins and the third seed in the West. Kevin Durant was on Oklahoma City’s very first professional basketball team. He was with the Thunder for nine years and was constantly professional on and off the court.

Even after all his success with his first team, he wanted something else. He wanted a championship. All the greatest players in the NBA have championships. It is one of the only sports where championships play the biggest factor in becoming one of the greats. Durant is easily a top three player in the league, but he wasn’t winning championships. He was tired of losing in the playoffs.

Basketball is a team game. However, the Thunder relied on 1-on-1 basketball instead of team basketball, which is what always hurt them against good team basketball like the Spurs and Warriors. He wanted to play for a team that moved the ball around and played unselfishly, and the Warriors established themselves as one of those teams.

Durant saw how easily they got open shots and how much fun it was. So after nine years with the same team and still no championships, he decided to join a team that fit his style and was what he wanted.

“I understood cognitively that I was facing a crossroads in my evolution as a player and as a man, and that it came with exceptionally difficult choices,” Durant writes in his tell-all article, My Next Chapter.

He released this article July 4, 2016 to tell his fans that he had decided to join the Golden State Warriors.

“I will miss Oklahoma City, and the role I have had in building this remarkable team. I will forever cherish the relationships within the organization — the friends and teammates that I went to war with on the court for nine years, and all the fans and people of the community,” said Durant.

The NBA is a business, and he saw an opportunity in a culture that would better suit his needs on the court. He felt as though he had made the right decision to continue his growth as a player going to a new city and a new team. That’s how any job is. If another job fits you better, you take it. But that’s not how the fans saw it.

Photo courtesy of YouTube

Jerseys were burned, angry tweets were shared and the basketball world went crazy. Kevin Durant’s new teammates were thrilled to have him once the news dropped. Draymond Green tweeted, “Welcome to THE FAMILY @KDTrey5 let’s just do what we are setting out to do!! #Blockoutthenoise”

But a lot of other professional basketball players were skeptical of the move. Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics tweeted, “If u can’t beat em join em,” since many people believe that Durant only joined the Golden State Warriors to get his first ring, considering they beat the Thunder in the Conference Finals of Durant’s final season. But he is tired of getting all this hate for his decision.

After a year of lying low and taking the heat for his move, Durant is tired of being told that he made the wrong decision. He has recently tweeted that he did not like playing for the OKC coach Billy Donovan, and the roster wasn’t good. But the tweets weren’t enough. He is also dropping some new shoes with a special something for his haters. On the soles of the shoes there are some of the names he’s been called in a list. These include: Weak, Quitter, Doesn’t Care About Fans, KowarD, Snake and Traitor. On top of the list, in yellow, are his scores from each game in the finals, “2017 Champs”, and “Finals Most Valuable Player.”

Photo courtesy of SB Nation

People knew how good he was, but they forgot how great he was and is until the NBA finals. He was a four-time scoring champion, an MVP and arguably one of the greatest college basketball players at the University of Texas, even though he played only one season.

In that one season, he averaged 25.8 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game for the Longhorns, and he was recognized as the unanimous national player of the year, winning the John R. Wooden Award, the Naismith College Player of the Year Award and all eight other recognized honors and awards. This made Durant the first freshman to win any of the national player of the year awards. He went to the best team in the NBA and became their best player, even better than the previous two-time MVP Steph Curry. He immediately fit right in with the Warriors and lead them to an NBA championship and dominated the finals.

At the end of the day, Durant loves the game of basketball. All he cares about is playing the game he loves. He is sick of all the hate he’s getting from everyone. Who wouldn’t get annoyed of getting attacked constantly by everyone around the world? He just wants to play basketball and prove to everyone that he is a great player that made a smart decision. You can hate him for his decision. It is your right to voice your opinion, but you can’t argue how great of a player he is on the court and off the court.