Golden State, You've Lost That Loving Feeling

Why do all of you have to be hating?

Ever since writing that Kevin Durant deserted the Oklahoma City Thunder, people have asked me why I have so much contempt for the Golden State Warriors now.

"It's not their problem KD signed with them."

"Of course you'd choose to be better."

"You're just bitter he didn't choose Boston."

All those statements are perfectly legit, especially the last one. (I am damn bitter because brother, he would've looked great in green and it would've been a bigger challenge than to "bye cheap jewellery" as Reggie Miller claimed.)

But I have a perfectly good reason to declare my love for the Warriors is over.

The Warriors were the NBA darlings.

They were the underdogs who became the Cinderella fairytale in earning a near-impossible 2015 NBA Championship who then went on to rewrite the records books and seize a historic 73-win season.

Everyone, including me, doubted they could even become legitimate championship contenders with their unconventional style of relying on three-point shooting.

But they paid no attention to the naysayers and continued to capture hearts and momentarily steal breathes with their heart-stopping pulsating play that revolutionised basketball.

Having saving all that, it wouldn't be fair to label them as only being an offensively-minded team as they became a premier defensive unit that were committed and focused on the other side of the ball.

Even individually, from the top to the bottom of their playing roster, every player was an unlikely success that was discarded or picked up in the draft.

Steph Curry is the most unlikely MVP in the history of any sport, let alone the size-orientated NBA.

After being drafted seventh with no real sense of excitement and a number of serious ankle injuries, Curry seemingly morphed overnight into a global superstar and caught the NBA by surprise.

In 60 years of MVP voting, Curry was the first to earn the award by unanimous decision this season, effectively claiming back-to-back MVP titles.

Other members of the Warriors championship side includes other draft projects Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes who were drafted 11th, 35th and 7th respectively. Like Curry, Thompson and Green were given little hope of evolving into fully fledged starters let alone into All-Stars , while Barnes has become the Dallas Mavericks' franchise player, signing a monumental deal for $95m for four years.

Moreover, cornerstones of the team, Andrew Bogut, Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingstone, Marries Speights, and Leandro Barbosa, were all outcasts from former teams that Golden State threw lifelines to in revitalising their NBA careers.

All season long, we heard the Warriors proudly declare "Strength in Numbers".

There was once a time they refused to give up any players to trade for a bonafide star in Kevin Love. They refused to believe they weren't a championship contender without Love.

Now, all that "Strength in Numbers" talk seems like a very distant memory.

In their relentless pursuit of Kevin Durant, everything that was endearing about the Warriors was lost in a heartbeat.

In signing Durant, they lost Barnes, Bogut, Barbosa, Speights, Brandon Rush and Festus Ezeli.

The 2015-16 Warriors were arguably the greatest NBA team, even greater than the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls because they won more than 70 games in their championship defence where every team aimed up for them (unlike the Bulls' season which was their first championship since Michael Jordan returned from baseball).

The Warriors were the endearing underdogs, stealing not just a fairytale championship, but the hearts and minds of sports fans globally.

In a league of ego and selfishness, they preached a team-first mentality who many believe overachieved in reaching their goals.

But it's hard to warm to them now, after all their "Strength in Numbers" and team talk.

The Warriors have lost that loving feeling...

Why I Love The Warriors Is Why I Hate Them

PHOTO: EZRA SHAW/GETTY IMAGES

I'm incredulous.

I'm outraged that the 2014 MVP and Future Hall of Famer, Kevin Durant, has left the Oklahoma City Thunder. And not because he deserted the side that he led to the Western Conference Finals four times in the past six years as well as the 2012 NBA Finals.

It's not that he left the Thunder high and dry - it's that he left to join the very team that defeated him.

It makes ZERO sense that after relinquishing a commanding 3-1 series lead, Durant would then join that very same team that beat him. It's not as if the Thunder were swept and Durant was ineffective. 

Durant was stunning in returning from season-long injury and was a revelation defensively which lead to the Thunder deciding to trade their defensive stud Serge Ibaka away.

The Thunder were on the brink of championship greatness. 

But Durant abandoned that glory of bringing a coveted championship to the working town of Oklahoma. The same city that he called "the perfect place for me".

He deflected responsibility after a long track record of being a leader, made even more sour when he claimed greatness isn't all about rings.

For the first time ever, I actually agree with Stephen A. Smith of ESPN. It's not even that he left the Thunder. That's understandable.

But Durant decided to jump on the Warriors bandwagon and take a massive shortcut to claiming a championship ring.

And the reasons for why he left for Golden State is exactly why I'm pounding this keyboard furiously.

You see, I'm plagued by Durant's decision to join the Warriors who broke the NBA record books with a magical historic 73-win season.

I'm plagued because all the things I loved about the Warriors is what makes me hate them now.

And more than Klay Thompson, Steph Curry, Andre Iguodala or Draymond Green, I might hate Zaza Pachoulia even more (and not just for this clip because nothing will ever be more easy now).

Durant is going to love it in Golden State for the same reasons I came to admire the Warriors. They're humble, unselfish, love sharing the ball in offence, are committed and focused defensively, thrive on having fun on and off the court and possess absolutely no ego on the team. 

The Warriors are the opposite of what the Thunder are. Durant and Russell Westbrook were constantly engaged in who was the alpha-male of the team, while team mates bickered and argued in an environment that fostered drama. 

How much fun is it watching Westbrook mindlessly dribble the ball into oblivion?

And like all the girls, Durant just wants to have fun. 

I mean, if you thought it was the Line Up of Death before, it's the Line Up of the Apocalypse now. Just take a look.

Durant will love it with the all-preaching Christian line-up consisting of Thompson, Curry, Green, Iguodala and himself. This is the Christian rock-band of the NBA now.

But for a team that took no shortcuts in patiently building its championship core through the draft, their relentless pursuit of Durant will leave a sour and spoiled taste in many mouths.

Especially mine.