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Kevin Durant on Oklahoma City: ‘I Love It Here and I Would Love to Get My Jersey Retired Here’

Scott Cook Contributor
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There are a lot of questions about Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant’s future after the 2016 season. Many speculate that the 2014 MVP would want to leave Oklahoma City for a larger market. Others suggest that he would want to return home to his native Washington, D.C. to play for the Wizards.

With a handful of options, Durant may have given a clue as to which way he is leaning. According to ESPN, Durant recently told Revolt TV, “I love it here, man. I love my teammates, I love the city, I don’t really think about anywhere else… I love staying in the moment, and I’m one of those guys that would love to stick it out with one team my whole career.”

Durant, who is officially done for the rest of this season after undergoing bone-graft surgery on his right foot on Tuesday, continued, “The Kobe, Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki type, that’s awesome. But you never know what the future holds sometimes and how teams may feel about you after a while, but I love it here and I would love to get my jersey retired here.”

Durant only played in 27 games for the Thunder this season before injuring his foot. He was averaging 25.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists per contest. Durant has one more year left on his Thunder contract before becoming a free agent after the 2016 season.

Durant was drafted second overall in 2007 by the Seattle SuperSonics, one season before they re-located to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder. He has been with the franchise for eight seasons.

Until now, Durant has remained rather quiet about his NBA future. Judging by what he told Revolt TV, it sounds like he may be leaning towards staying in Oklahoma City.

The humble 26-year-old said, “I love playing for Oklahoma City, man. There’s just a certain level of pride that I have when I play with that Oklahoma City on my chest, so that’s the only thing I’m focused on.” He added, “Everybody knows that I represent where I come from that no matter where I play at, no matter what arena. But I’m just focused on playing with Oklahoma City. It feels like home now. That’s where I am.”

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