Last night I relearned the lesson again! A lesson I learned years ago and have never forgotten, but still have to see play itself out from time to time. Under the watchful eye of team physicians and probably against his own better judgment, Kevin Durant took the floor last night and lost a lot more than a NBA Finals game.
Last season, when Kawhi Leonard refused to follow the advice of his team physicians and instead trusted his own instincts, he was at odds with the Spurs organization. That dispute eventually led to his banishment to Toronto. The result of his "decision" is that he is now on the verge of becoming an NBA champion again and maybe a Finals MVP. Even if the Raptors were to somehow lose the next two games and Kawhi were to leave the aforementioned accolades unclaimed, it would still be very difficult to argue that he made the wrong decision by protecting his health last season. It's a no-brainer that securing his health superseded any single game or single season. Right? So how do we understand the pre-game calls, almost demands, for KD's return to rescue the Golden State Warriors? I saw them on my newsfeed and all over social media, immediately following the Warriors loss in Game 4. I cannot help but wonder if, at least for KD, this was an errant attempt to prove "MR. UNRELIABLE" as fake news once and for all? Is that old baggage still around?
Let's go back to 2014, when an Oklahoma writer and even his editor, thought it was a good idea to headline a story about Kevin Durant with the title "MR. UNRELIABLE". Nevermind the laundry list of all-stars, Hall of Famer's, and league MVP's; who each had to develop into their roles as NBA Champions, one season at a time. Like most professional sports, the NBA requires everyone to climb the ladder of greatness for themselves. Even teams that are constructed with all the required parts to win championships, almost always have to "gel" and "learn to win". Whether it was the Lakers and Celtics of the 1980's, the "Bad Boy" Pistons, Jordan's Bulls, Duncan's Spurs, or the Miami Heat Trio; every team has to had learn that there are "levels to these bevels".
So why would a hometown paper be ultra-critical of it's star player so early in his career? Even though the newspaper would later apologize, that apology hardly put the genie back in the bottle. That narrative was in the ethos and was quickly absorbed. Today, it seems impossible to ascertain the full impact that single story has had on KD's career, much less his mentality regarding life in the NBA. Was it a factor in his departure from OKC, his decision of where to go next, and maybe even his decision to take an unnecessary risk last night? Who knows?
The REAL UNRELIABLE: The feet and ankles of 7 footers.
If anyone cared enough to examine what was happening right in front of our eyes from 2011 to 2014, maybe the UNRELIABLE story would have been about 7 footers in the NBA whose careers were shortened or ended by foot/ankle injuries (see also Yao Ming). In fairness, that story was written and discussed all across the country. It just wasn't in BOLD print, all CAPS, and FRONT PAGE in the sports section of Kevin Durant's then hometown paper. I wonder how many writers or even fans are looking back today to see that the same right ankle that was injured last night was also injured in 2011, followed by multiple surgeries that occurred prior to the 2014 season and the MR. UNRELIABLE headline? I wonder how many writers are racking their brains today, wondering if there is a connection between all the injuries to the lower right leg of Kevin Durant over the last 8 years? Even in the good times, on the good nights, what price was being paid behind the scenes? Does it really matter if the record is set straight, the facts are known, or are we all completely satisfied just lobbing the criticisms and moving on?
I started this story by saying I relearned a lesson last night. Yes, I was watching my 2nd full basketball game of the season and I relearned why it is that I don't watch the NFL or NBA. I do, however, watch golf and tennis. I do it all the time. So I know that when a player is injured, like Rickie Fowler last season or David Duval in his prime, the golf media goes to great lengths to get the backstory right. I know that luxury was even afforded to Tiger Woods in his recent comeback. Fans and commentators alike, wondered how he managed the road from public pain and humiliation to return to the pinnacle of golfing success?
Where was the appetite for such stories in OKC circa 2014? Why was the curiosity so lacking? Because in an age of 24/7 sports media coverage, the NFL and NBA coverage is about applying ever-increasing expectations on young men and rationalizing it based on their income. Nowhere else in our society is a similar standard applied. In fact, I would submit that the entire US banking system and housing market could collapse, throwing the entire world into a recession, and erasing trillions in worldwide wealth and no one would even care who was to blame. See what I did there?
Does anyone think, for one second, that the doctors advising KD will be crucified today? They make a lot of money too. Yet, there is no chance they are overly scrutinized today, because we all realize that medicine is not about perfection. Alternative outcomes, even career ending ones, are accepted with very little skepticism. Does anyone think the GSW team owners are on high alert today, expecting a full fan backlash? No sir! It's not coming. Somehow, fans understand that even billionaires with seemingly unlimited resources are fallible. What's more, that is completely acceptable. It turns out that the demand for perfection and complete disregard for your future and safety is reserved for a few very small groups of people. People we can label "UNRELIABLE", as they test themselves on the grandest of stages, in front of the largest of audiences; while we sit at home debating whether we are sufficiently entertained?
*Praying for full recovery and long-term health for KD today.
