# Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant's July 2016 jump from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the reigning-record-setting Golden State Warriors turned his name into a running joke online, with 'to Kevin Durant' becoming shorthand for ditching a losing team for the one you can't beat. Later moments, including a scowling courtside security guard and Peyton Manning's ESPYs roast, kept adding fresh reaction fodder built around his face.

## Origin
Durant announced he was leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Golden State Warriors on July 4, 2016, in a Player's Tribune essay titled 'My Next Chapter,' framing the move as a search for growth as a player and a man[1]. Joining a Warriors roster that had just set the single-season wins record made him the offseason villain for a large chunk of the NBA fanbase, and comparisons to LeBron James signing with the Heat's Big Three followed within hours[5].

Urban Dictionary entries defining 'Kevin Durant' as a verb, 'to leave your team and join the team that you can't beat,' were posted soon after the announcement and locked in the mockery[2].

- **Platform:** The Player's Tribune (catalyst) / Twitter (viral spread)
- **Creator:** Unknown
- **Date:** 2016

## Overview
The Kevin Durant meme is really a cluster of jokes tied to his 2016 free agency decision and a handful of on-court reaction moments that followed. The core format uses his name as a verb: to Kevin Durant means to abandon a struggling team for a loaded contender chasing a title[2]. NBA Twitter, r/nba and pickup basketball trash talk still use the phrase whenever a star forces a trade to a super team[2].

A second batch of jokes leans on Durant's face rather than his career choices. A stone-faced reaction after Peyton Manning teased him at the 2017 ESPYs got photoshopped into dozens of setups[3], and a 2019 shot of a courtside security guard glaring at him mid-game got remixed as reaction bait for anyone catching a stare[4]. Together the pieces make Durant one of the most memed active NBA players[5].

## How It Spread
The verb form took hold across NBA Twitter and Reddit through the 2016-2017 season, especially once the Warriors won the title in June 2017 with Durant as Finals MVP[1]. The joke kept refreshing every time a star pushed for a trade to a stacked team, and fans still drop lines like 'he's about to pull a Kevin Durant' whenever a top player angles for a move[2].

Reaction moments piled on. At the 2017 ESPYs, Peyton Manning cracked a joke about Durant's move and the camera caught Durant looking unamused, which the Daily Dot rounded up as photoshop bait the next day[3]. On May 1, 2019, sports account The Render (@TheRenderNBA) posted a clip of a courtside security guard glowering at Durant after a fourth-quarter foul, and the still was quickly parodied by @Dramadoessports joking the guard was a Rockets or Thunder fan and @Juniuer joking the guard was thirsty for KD[6]. USA Today covered the pile-on the same week[4].

Around the same period, a Twitter joke reading 'your mum trying to cover you with the blood of Jesus before you leave the house' got attached to a clip of Durant in remixes, adding one more entry to the KD reaction canon[5].

## How to Use
The verb form typically shows up as 'to Kevin Durant' or 'pulling a KD,' aimed at any player or teammate ditching a weaker squad for a title favorite. Common convention on Twitter is to quote-tweet a trade rumor with just 'Kevin Durant behavior.' For the reaction images, users often crop the security guard stare or the ESPYs frown next to a caption about someone catching them slipping.

## Frequently Asked Questions
### What is Kevin Durant?
Kevin Durant is an NBA star whose 2016 move to the Golden State Warriors turned his name into a verb for ring-chasing and spawned a run of reaction memes[1][2].

### Where did Kevin Durant come from?
The meme kicked off with his July 4, 2016 Player's Tribune essay 'My Next Chapter' announcing he was signing with the Warriors[1].

### What does Kevin Durant mean?
As internet slang, to Kevin Durant means to leave a losing team to join the winning team you can't beat[2].

### How do you use Kevin Durant?
Drop 'pulling a Kevin Durant' or 'KD behavior' when a star forces a trade to a contender or a pickup player switches squads mid-game[2].

### Is Kevin Durant still popular?
The verb form still shows up on NBA Twitter whenever a star pushes for a trade to a super team, and the security guard and ESPYs reaction shots keep getting recycled[4][5].

## References
1. [https://www.theplayerstribune.com/kevin-durant-nba-free-agency-announcement/](<https://www.theplayerstribune.com/kevin-durant-nba-free-agency-announcement/>)
2. [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Kevin%20Durant](<https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Kevin%20Durant>)
3. [https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/kevin-durant-peyton-manning-espys-joke/](<https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/kevin-durant-peyton-manning-espys-joke/>)
4. [https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/05/kevin-durant-security-guard-stare-meme-warriors-rockets](<https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/05/kevin-durant-security-guard-stare-meme-warriors-rockets>)
5. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/people/kevin-durant](<https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/people/kevin-durant>)
6. [https://x.com/i/status/1123456466566963201](<https://x.com/i/status/1123456466566963201>)
7. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnxdJFhL-CU](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnxdJFhL-CU>)

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Source: https://meme.com/memes/kevin-durant
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