Kevin Durant hasn't ruined the NBA, we have.

Kevin Durant has been the face of a movement that many believe has ruined the game of basketball and the NBA, but in reality the face of the NBA's supposed downfall is the one that looks back at us in the mirror.

It’s time to stop blaming Kevin Durant for ruining basketball and start looking in the mirror for who is responsible for the supposed decline of the NBA. It's July 2016 and Kevin Durant has been courted by multiple NBA teams in hopes he would join them and make them an instant Championship contender. Then the news broke that Durant would be joining the Golden State Warriors, a team that won 73 games the previous year before falling in game 7 of the NBA Championship to the greatest player in the world, Lebron James.

The decision by Durant to head to the Bay Area was initially met with shock, how good can the Warriors be next year? Then the decision was met with rage by fans of every team not named Golden State. How could the second best basketball player in the world leave his team to join one of the greatest teams of all time who were coming off two championship runs? Now nobody can stop the Warriors and basketball will be boring.

The notion that basketball, especially the NBA, has become boring, specifically the NBA Playoffs has been becoming more and more popular over the past couple of months. Never mind the fact that this year’s Finals was the most watched Finals since 1998. The truth is the Warriors are basketball at it's best form. If you were to build a perfect basketball team you would have 2 superstars, a couple of guys who are excellent role players and can make plays when the superstars are on the bench, a tremendous defense, a defensive player of the year, a deep bench, a great coaching staff and a team that plays well together with good chemistry and players who put the success of the team before their own accolades. Yet somehow people still find reasons to dislike what the Warriors are doing and most of it stems from Kevin Durant.

Who are we to criticize what Durant is doing when we are the ones who have created this environment where the decision Durant made to join the Warriors is not only an O.K. thing to do but is also a necessary choice.

Whether it’s the sports host on the morning radio, the latest ESPN firee or co-workers who both happened to “catch the game”, when people sit down to talk NBA and specifically who the greatest player ever to play the game is the topic of conversation inevitably turns to championships. Every. Single. Time. When we talk about NBA players we respect guys like John Stockton, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Allen Iverson and Tracy McGrady for being excellent players and some of the greats. However, the case for these players being the greatest of all time or even the greatest players at their respective positions is thrown out the window because they have a combined 0 championships. Even between players who have multiple championships the argument will without a doubt come down to the amount of championships when trying to decide who was the better of the two players. Try to make a case that Michael Jordan is better than Lebron without using the argument that Jordan has more championships. Lebron has the most NBA Finals triple doubles of all time and he is the leading scorer in playoff history passing MJ in less shots. He’s been to 7 straight NBA Finals and has arguably been taking on much better teams than Jordan did. “But Jordan has 6 Rings.”

So in an era where championships are the only thing that matters, what is a player like Lebron or Durant to do? The answer is to go to a place where they will be able to win a championship. But heaven forbid a player leaves his team in order to better his personal situation and be more successful. If a computer programmer working in Lincoln Nebraska is offered a job in Los Angeles that pays more money and has a better chance for promotions within that company and a better chance for success with a better boss and better coworkers who would blame that guy for leaving to take that new job? But if a NBA player dares to leave Oklahoma City for San Francisco it is the worst thing to happen to basketball.

Let’s not pretend that Kevin Durant is the first player in NBA history to leave their team in pursuit of a championship. Kareem was drafted by Milwaukee before winning championships with the Lakers, Karl Malone left the Jazz to join Shaq and Kobe as he tried to win a championship. Charles Barkley went to Phoenix as he tried to win a coveted title and Tracy Mcgrady made a last minute run with San Antonio trying to win it all.

Not only has Durant watched these players as they have gone from team to team in order to win a title but he’s been surrounded by individuals who have not been loyal his entire career. Don’t forget that Durant was drafted by and played his first season in Seattle. After his rookie season the team and owner bailed on the city and community and moved the team to Oklahoma City. Years later, coming off of Finals appearance the Thunder decided to trade away James Harden, a key piece to their championship contending team.

So who are we to criticize Durant for leaving OKC. He’s been surrounded by unloyal individuals his entire career. He watched Lebron, the greatest player in the world, leave for Miami in order to win championships and become celebrated as one of the greatest of all time. He watched as sports radio hosts debated over Jordan and Lebron while bringing up number of championships and so Durant had a decision to make. Would he stay in OKC with a point guard who wanted the spotlight while having to contend with Golden State, San Antonio and Houston all the while probably never winning a championship while being listed among players such as Barkley, Stockton and McGrady as good players who never won a title? Or would he move to the Bay Area with teammates who play as a team and be listed among players like Lebron, Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant as tremendous players who had reached the top of the NBA and were crowned champions?

If you were placed in Durant’s shoes which would you chose? It’s fair to say most of the population would have done the exact same thing as Kevin Durant. So it’s time to stop blaming Durant for ruining basketball and instead look at ourselves and our obsession with championships which has forced these great players to do whatever it takes to become “one of the greats” in our eyes.

So Kevin, go ahead and win championships. Be successful. Have fun and go down as one of the greats. You didn’t ruin basketball. This one is on us.