Reggie Miller obviously isn’t the only person in the world who hates Kevin Durant’s decision to join the Warriors next season. Early Wednesday morning, Charles Barkley appeared on ESPN’s Mike & Mike and discussed how much he dislikes the idea of KD playing for Golden State, and there have been plenty of other people who have gone off on Twitter over the last two days about KD choosing to play for the team that won 73 games last season. But you could make the argument that Miller hates KD’s decision more than anyone else right now.
We know this because Miller spent the last two days penning a suuuuuuuper long essay for Bleacher Report about his thoughts on KD. It clocks in at about 1,500 words—which, for comparison’s sake, is approximately 300 words longer than this excellent essay we published about KD on Tuesday—and it features Miller listing all the reasons he wishes KD had stayed put in Oklahoma City. We’re not going to list all of those reasons here because, well, Miller’s lengthy essay is already long enough, but Miller seems to take specific issue with KD leaving a small market behind to join a superteam. In his piece, Miller—who spent 18 seasons playing for the Pacers in Indiana—starts by sympathizing with KD's desire to win a title:
People always say to me, "I'm so glad you stayed with us"—that I stayed for 18 years with a small-market team in Indiana.
But Miller quickly moves on from that sentiment and explains why he stayed in Indiana for so long and why he thinks KD should have done the same in OKC:
Stars in small markets have a greater obligation to their fans.
And Miller ends his essay by pointing out the opportunities he had to win a title at the end of his career before reemphasizing his original point, which is that he believes KD should have stayed with the Thunder:
I get Durant's decision. I understand that temptation.
As we mentioned, Miller obviously isn’t the first former NBA player to sound off on KD’s decision and he probably won’t be the last, but he does offer a unique perspective on the situation, assuming you have the time to read all 1,500 words he put together to prove that no one hates KD’s move more than him. You can read his entire essay here.
