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Durant to Attend Collison's Thunder Jersey Retirement: 'Time for Us to Let Go'

Timothy Rapp

Golden State Warriors superstar Kevin Durant will attend the Oklahoma City Thunder jersey retirement of former teammate Nick Collison, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com.

"That group was so special—that whole group from 2010 until I left there, it was special," Durant said. "It's about time for us to let go of all that extra stuff and just come together—especially around this time, because it's Nick."

According to the report: "The Thunder are aware of Durant's plans to attend the ceremony and are glad to accommodate him, sources said. Scores of ex-Sonics and Thunder teammates from Collison's 15-year career are expected to be in Oklahoma City for the event."

The ceremony will take place March 20.

Durant and Collison played together for nine seasons (eight with the Thunder, one with the Seattle SuperSonics before the team relocated to Oklahoma City). In that time, the Thunder reached the postseason six times, the Western Conference Finals four times and the NBA Finals once, losing to the Miami Heat in five games in the 2011-12 season.

But Durant's departure in summer 2016 was met with criticism from many NBA fans and made him public enemy No. 1 in Oklahoma City. It also led to a feud with Russell Westbrook, both via social media and on the court, even if Durant downplayed any beef.

In the interim, Durant has won two titles with the Warriors.

In other words, there's a lot of subtext to consider every time Durant returns to OKC, even if it's for a ceremony honoring a former teammate such as Collison. But clearly, Durant is ready to move on.

   

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