Kevin Durant announces he's joining the Golden State Warriors
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jan 22, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) reacts after a shot during the second half against the San Antonio Spurs at AT&T Center. The Thunder won 111-105. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Kevin Durant is joining forces with the Splash Brothers.
The free-agent superstar forward announced Monday he would join the Golden State Warriors after a whirlwind weekend of listening to pitches from six NBA teams.
The deal with Golden State is for two years, worth a total of $54 million -- with an opt-out clause in the second year, according to ESPN's Marc Stein.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Durant had spent his entire career with the Oklahoma City Thunder (starting out as a Seattle Sonic before the team was moved), leading them to the NBA Finals in 2012 and to the Western Conference finals four times.
The Warriors won an NBA-record 73 games in the regular season in 2015-16, but fell short of repeating as champions when they lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a seven-game NBA Finals series.
The Warriors almost didn't make it to the Finals, falling behind 3-1 against Durant's Thunder in the Western Conference finals before rallying to stave off elimination.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Durant, still just 27 years old, has averaged 27.4 ppg over his career. Last season, he averaged 28.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 5 assists per game.
The Thunder lobbied hard to keep Durant, with pitches both before and after all his other meetings.
The team also made a big trade just before free agency opened to surround him with more talent in a bid to convince Durant the window for a title in Oklahoma City was still wide open.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But the lure of creating a big four in Oakland, with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green apparently won over Durant.