"No question" - Jayson Tatum supports Warriors' Kevin Durant jersey No. 35 retirement decision
Kevin Durant's decision to join the Golden State Warriors after losing to them with the OKC Thunder caused controversy. Despite spending only three seasons with the team, he contributed to their widespread success, winning back-to-back titles in the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons.
After coming up short of a historic three-peat in the 2018-19 season, Kevin Durant controversially parted ways with the Warriors following a spat with forward Draymond Green.
While Durant only spent three years with the Warriors, the success he achieved in such a short period of time puts him among the most successful franchise players. As such, Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum believes he deserves his jersey retired at the Chase Center.
After Durant made his case for getting his jersey retired by the Warriors, Tatum responded in a post on social media. Notably, Tatum made a strong case for the Hamptons Five, including Andre Iguodala, writing:
"No question. 35, 30, 11, 23 and 9 all going in the rafters"
Kevin Durant's strong statement about the OKC Thunder retiring his jersey in addition to the Warriors
In addition to making his case for getting his jersey retired by the Golden State Warriors, Kevin Durant also made his case for the OKC Thunder retiring his jersey. Despite the fact that he left the franchise on bad terms and frequently experienced boos while playing in OKC, Durant feels the team should retire his jersey.
While speaking to Logan Murdock of The Ringer, Kevin Durant made a strong statement regarding the Thunder retiring his jersey.
"I'm going to be a Hall of Famer when I'm done, one of the greatest to ever play," Durant said. "If you don't want me to be a part of your program when I'm done playing, then that's personal. OKC has to retire my jersey. It wouldn't even be good for the game of basketball if they didn't."
Although Durant left OKC on bad terms after his shocking exit, his accomplishments with the team can't be denied. He topped the league in scoring in three of his first five seasons, before leading the league in scoring again in the 2013-14 season.
In addition, Kevin Durant made a number of All-Star appearances, while most notably winning the 2014 NBA MVP award for his stellar play. Together, he and Russell Westbrook took the Thunder to a number of deep playoff runs, making the Thunder one of the most exciting teams to watch at the time.
Whether or not the team winds up honoring him with a retired jersey remains to be seen. Ahead of the start of the 2023-24 NBA season, Durant has shown little signs of slowing down, meaning any conversations about jersey retirement won't happen any time soon.