Kevin Durant was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics as the second overall choice in the 2007 NBA Draft. Following his Rookie of the Year victory, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, where Durant spent the following eight seasons playing basketball. During that time, he was selected for seven All-Star teams, four NBA First Teams, an MVP award, and four scoring titles. Durant is now third in points behind former teammates Russell Westbrook and Gary Payton and continues to lead the SuperSonics/Thunder all-time in 3-point field goals.

Even though Durant had a lot of success on his own in Oklahoma City, the Thunder qualified for the playoffs seven times in a row. They played at a 58-win pace in the lockout-shortened 2011–12 season and won 50 games or more five times. During that streak, Oklahoma City advanced to the 2012 NBA Finals and made it to the Western Conference Finals four times.

In 2016, with a 3-1 lead against the 73-win Golden State Warriors, they were dangerously close to making it back to the NBA Finals. After a stunning comeback to win the series in seven games, the Warriors were led by Klay Thompson, who scored 39 points and drained eleven three-pointers in Game 6.

But in those NBA Finals, the Warriors also lost two of the final three games at home to the Cavaliers after blowing a 3-1 lead. They decided to sign Durant, a free agent at the time, as a result of a salary cap hike. Along with Draymond Green, Stephen Curry, and Klay Thompson, he choose the Warriors over the Thunder, Celtics, and Spurs to form one of the best teams in NBA history.

The Warriors would win the 2017 and 2018 NBA Finals and get revenge on the Cavaliers with Durant in the Bay Area. For both of those series, Durant was voted the MVP of the Finals. But Durant has never received the credit he deserves for those titles since he joined a team that had already won a championship, set a single-season record for wins, and had another all-time great in Curry. Many doubters think Durant had to stack the deck in order to win a championship.

In2019, the Warriors squared off against the Raptors in the NBA Finals. The Warriors’ inability to overcome Thompson’s (torn ACL) and Durant’s (torn Achilles) injuries led to the Raptors winning the series in six games. After that season, Durant made the decision to leave and moved to Brooklyn to play with Kyrie Irving. When James Harden, Durant’s former teammate, was dealt to the Nets two years later, their pair became a Big 3.

Despite being one of the NBA’s greatest what-ifs, their time together proved to be offensively potent. While playing together, Durant, Irving, and Harden went 13-3, but 16 games would not be enough in the end. With Harden sidelined and Irving hurt, Durant almost rallied the Nets over Milwaukee in the 2021 Eastern Semifinals, but his 49 points in Game 7 would not be enough. The Nets would begin to fall apart, and Milwaukee would go on to win the title.

A year later, the unhappy Ben Simmons was involved in a package that saw Harden traded to Philadelphia. That was going to be Brooklyn’s thing. Amidst a contract issue, Irving asked for a move in February 2023. After settling in Dallas, Durant was moved to the Suns a few days later in order to play alongside Devin Booker.

Though they lacked depth, Durant and Booker would lead the Suns force the Nuggets to six games in the Western Conference Semifinals. The Suns chose to swap Chris Paul’s salary in a three-team trade that sent Bradley Beal to Phoenix, completing another Big 3 for Durant.

Providing Durant, Booker, and Beal with quality depth was a big problem because their combined salary was $151 million. Some have drawn attention to their lack of a point guard. The Suns’ offensive in the fourth quarter was the poorest, and they lost to Minnesota in the opening round. This completes the circle of events.

Since he was the team leader, Durant would have had a ring that everyone would have accepted as “legitimate” if he had been able to lead the Nets to a championship in 2021, when he would have faced the Suns. Rather, since leaving the Warriors, Durant has joined two different teams, and the parts do not fit together quite as well this time. Following Frank Vogel’s departure, Mike Budenholzer made additional changes. The Big 3’s owner, Matt Ishiba, is still determined to keep them together, but the offseason has not even started.

Having just finished a season marred by injuries, the Suns would probably receive the least in return for Beal. He has a no-trade provision, which further restricts the alternatives for trading him. That leaves Durant, who has turned into a bit of a mercenary over the past few years, and Booker, the team’s homegrown franchise player. But if Durant requests a new trade for him, going back to Oklahoma City is one place that makes perfect sense.