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Kevin Durant: Olympics experience ‘therapy for me’

Kevin Durant won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2016 Rio Olympics — an experience he feels was healing therapy.

The newest member of the Golden State Warriors received no shortage of criticism after making the decision to leave the Olkahoma City Thunder this summer. Pundits all over the nation as well as fans who felt like he abandoned them relentlessly lobbed shots his way, including at least one popular local business owner.

Needless to say, it was a welcome change to get out of the States and move into a different environment.

“It was therapy for me after making a big change in my life,” Durant told Michael Lee of The Vertical. “It made my life easier … I knew [a backlash] was coming. It was definitely different for me, but to come here in an environment where people accepted me and didn’t care about anything except being my buddy, that’s what I needed.”

It’s not surprising to hear Durant say he needed a buddy. After all, his old buddy Russell Westbrook and he seem to have clearly cut ties since he left for the West Coast.

Based on Durant’s performance in the gold-medal game against Serbia, it seems like he’s over all that. He dropped 30 points to lead Team USA to a 30-point win and claim his second career gold medal.

Afterwards, the dynamic scoring forward wouldn’t commit to playing for the United States in 2020 when the Olympic Games are held in Tokyo. If he does play, he could tie Carmelo Anthony, who won his third gold this summer, becoming the first to achieve this feat.

Now it’s time to get back into the NBA grind with the Warriors. No doubt Durant will hear plenty of boos from disgruntled fans when he travels to Oklahoma City next February.

But after the past month of camaraderie with his Team USA mates, they’ll likely fall on deaf ears.

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