Kevin Durant is leaving Oklahoma City to join the Golden State Warriors.
The NBA’s former MVP and four-time scoring champion announced his decision Monday morning to play alongside Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson on a loaded Warriors team that set the league’s regular season victory record last season.
ESPN reports the two-year deal is worth $54.3 million.
In a statement, Durant praised the Thunder organization and Oklahoma City, but said he made his decision based on the potential for his growth as a player.
“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. They have always had my back unconditionally, and I cannot be more grateful for what they have meant to my family and to me,” Durant wrote.
Durant will officially sign with the Warriors when the league lifts its moratorium on free agency signing on July 7.
Sam Presti, the Thunder’s executive vice president and general manager, described Durant in a statement as one of the franchise’s founding fathers.
“We can't adequately articulate what he meant to the foundation of this franchise and our success,” Presti wrote. “While clearly disappointing that he has chosen to move on, the core values that he helped establish only lead to us thanking him for the many tangible and intangible ways that he helped our program.”
Golden State defeated Oklahoma City this year in the Western Conference Finals, 4 games to 3, on their way to the NBA Finals. The Warriors fell to Cleveland Cavaliers in seven games.
Durant was drafted by the Seattle Supersonics in 2007 with the second overall pick. The franchise relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008, the same year the franchise drafted Russell Westbrook. Together, Durant and Westbrook led the Thunder to the NBA playoffs six times, including the Finals in 2012.
Durant won the MVP award in 2014 and led the league in scoring four times.
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