Warriors leave Kevin Durant out of 'franchise of the decade' tribute
Put yourself in the shoes of Kevin Durant, a man who helped the Golden State Warriors win back-to-back championships in 2017 and 2018 and sacrificed his Achilles in a valiant attempt to three-peat in 2019.
Now, imagine finding out that the Warriors were named the franchise of the decade by Sports Business Journal, and the team has put together a photo slideshow of the best players and memories from the 2010s.
Imagine watching said slideshow, tweeted from the official team account — and ... not seeing yourself?
The Golden State Warriors have been named ‘Franchise of the Decade’ across all professional sports teams by @sbjsbd
» https://t.co/5SNVWnyRkA pic.twitter.com/7pfcgbg56V— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) December 16, 2019
Some players in that 22-photo slideshow: Anthony Morrow, Monta Ellis, Zaza Pachulia, Jarrett Jack and Eric Paschall.
Sure, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green — the foundation of the Warriors dynasty — made cameos. But there was no sign of a No. 35.
Look: Morrow was a spot-up shooter, Ellis an exciting slasher, Pachulia and Jack valuable veteran presences and Paschall is a promising rookie. And you can’t include everybody who contributed to the past decade of basketball excellence. But no KD?
Honest mistake or not?
This could simply have been a “slip” — although it’s hard to ignore the Finals MVP from two of the team’s three championships in this decade. Or, it is a subtle, petty jab at Durant’s decision to join the Brooklyn Nets instead of re-signing with the Warriors last offseason.
The Warriors did post a follow-up collage of photos thanking their fans, which included Durant. But fans on Twitter had already taken notice.
No word, though, on whether Durant’s burner account(s) made an appearance in the replies.
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