Kevin Durant is in the midst of making a run at back-to-back NBA titles with the Golden State Warriors after joining the roster for the 2016-17 season.
But in a recent interview, Durant revealed the reason behind his decision to sign with the Warriors during free agency, and it wasn't just because they could be a winning team.
Durant said he needed validation from Golden State - which might come somewhat as a surprise considering he had already won an MVP, racked up seven All-Star appearances and led the Thunder to the Finals in 2012.
He said his first question when he sat down with the now famous "Hamptons Five" — Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala, who showed up at his door while he was in the Hamptons to convince him to sign with the Warriors — was why the Warriors would want him.
"Everybody looked at me like I was crazy," Durant said in an interview with The Athletic.
"It was just like, 'Why wouldn't we? This would be super special.' I'm like, 'I want to be part of something super, super special.' It was just perfect. Everybody was just thinking the same way I was. Just no egos.
"At that time in my career, I didn't know how other people felt about my game. And I knew that I was pretty damn good and I knew I worked extremely hard, but I needed that validation from my peers and teams and GMs, people that are really into the game, to really help me feel good about myself and help me feel confident and let me know that what I was doing was working.
"So when they all came, and they all put stuff to the side to come to the meeting, I was like, man, this is amazing. Best team in the league, some of the best players, most accomplished players want me on their team and want what I do, what I bring to the table. It was pretty cool, you know what I'm saying?
"Because I'm looking at this whole basketball thing from a kid's perspective. I'm still excited, I'm still learning. So to have that much love in the room for how I play basketball, that's cool. They'll get to know me as a person, I was confident with that. But the basketball side, I was, like, man it's pretty damn cool that people enjoy the way I play and want me to play with them."
Durant has been a key reason for the Warriors' recent success, winning Finals MVP a year ago. He has averaged 25.7 points with 4.4 rebounds per game in 130 appearances over the course of two seasons in Oakland.
