Kevin Durant hopes Nets don't play tribute video when superstar returns to Barclays Center
The tribute video for players who return to face teams they have played for has become a hot topic amongst industry folk and fans.
Who deserves a tribute video? Does it depend on accomplishments? Tenure? Popularity? It’s a topic that remains divisive but if one former Nets player had it their way, they wouldn’t receive one.
Kevin Durant will return to Barclays Center this Wednesday for the first time since he was traded to the Phoenix Suns last season. Durant, who spent three seasons with Brooklyn from 2020-23, chimed in with his thoughts in a Twitter conversation regarding whether the Nets should play a tribute video to him, and the future Hall of Famer hopes they don’t.
“Please don’t,” Durant wrote on Sunday afternoon. “The night will be better without it.”
He would later elaborate on his feelings after Sunday's game.
In parts of three seasons with the Nets, Durant excelled. Durant averaged 25.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists over the 129 games he played.
However, Durant's tenure with Brooklyn saw a lot of ups and downs after signing with the Nets in the 2019 offseason alongside Kyrie Irving. The forward would miss the 2019-20 season with an Achilles injury but would help them go as far as a Game 7 against the eventual NBA Champion Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals the following year.
After a first-round sweep to the Boston Celtics in 2022, a rift between Durant and the Nets seemingly grew. Then-head coach Steve Nash was relieved of his duties early in the season and reported trade requests throughout the season finally ended with Brooklyn dealing Durant to the Suns for Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder and four unprotected future first-round picks before the 2023 trade deadline.
The Nets would go on to make the postseason but would be swept in the first round by the Philadelphia 76ers.
Brooklyn will host the Suns on Wednesday, Jan. 31 at 7:30 p.m.
