--- title: Kevin Durant to Golden State Warriors in $54.3 Million Deal description: Following a period of free agency, Kevin Durant has elected to join the Golden State Warriors. canonical: https://time.com/4392675/kevin-durant-golden-state-warriors/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-04T16:31:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T23:02:02.136Z article:section: Sports og:title: Kevin Durant Says He Will Sign With Golden State Warriors og:description: It is expected to be a two-year, $54.3 million deal og:url: https://time.com/4392675/kevin-durant-golden-state-warriors/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt636b4629a9fe95b3/69889a880a4a2266409ca571/kevin-durant-warriors.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Kevin Durant og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Kevin Durant Says He Will Sign With Golden State Warriors twitter:description: It is expected to be a two-year, $54.3 million deal twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt636b4629a9fe95b3/69889a880a4a2266409ca571/kevin-durant-warriors.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Kevin Durant Says He Will Sign With Golden State Warriors  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Jul 4, 2016 4:31 PM CUT  Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant reacts during the second half of Game 7 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals against the Golden State Warriors in Oakland, Calif., on May 30, 2016. Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant reacts during the second half of Game 7 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals against the Golden State Warriors in Oakland, Calif., on May 30, 2016.Marcio Jose Sanchez—AP  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Jul 4, 2016 4:31 PM CUT NBA superstar [Kevin Durant](http://time.com/90985/kevin-durant-mvp-speech/ "undefined") has elected to join the [Golden State Warriors](http://time.com/4338401/golden-state-warriors-stephen-curry-oklahoma-city-thunder/ "undefined"), following a period of free agency. The former Oklahoma City Thunder forward announced that he intends to sign with [Steph Curry](http://time.com/4325520/stephen-curry-nba-mvp-best-season/ "undefined"), Klay Thompson and the rest of the 2016 NBA finalists in a Monday [post on The Players’ Tribune](http://www.theplayerstribune.com/kevin-durant-nba-free-agency-announcement/ "undefined"). “The primary mandate I had for myself in making this decision was to have it based on the potential for my growth as a player — as that has always steered me in the right direction,” he wrote. “But I am also at a point in my life where it is of equal importance to find an opportunity that encourages my evolution as a man: moving out of my comfort zone to a new city and community which offers the greatest potential for my contribution and personal growth. With this in mind, I have decided that I am going to join the Golden State Warriors.” It is expected to be a two-year, $54.3 million deal with a player option for the second year, [according to ESPN](http://espn.go.com/nba/story/%5F/id/16759826/kevin-durant-announces-sign-golden-state-warriors "undefined"). The decision comes as a shock to many, as it was widely speculated that Durant would choose to return to the Thunder — the organization he has played for since being drafted as the No. 2 overall pick in 2007\. The 2014 MVP has played in seven all-star games, been named a First Team All-NBA player five times and has the third highest career scoring average in NBA history. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4392675/kevin-durant-golden-state-warriors/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4392675/kevin-durant-golden-state-warriors/"},"headline":"Kevin Durant Says He Will Sign With Golden State Warriors","datePublished":"2016-07-04T16:31:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T23:02:02.136Z","description":"It is expected to be a two-year, $54.3 million deal","url":"https://time.com/4392675/kevin-durant-golden-state-warriors/","keywords":["NBA","Sports topic","Kevin Durant","Golden State Warriors"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt636b4629a9fe95b3/69889a880a4a2266409ca571/kevin-durant-warriors.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt636b4629a9fe95b3/69889a880a4a2266409ca571/kevin-durant-warriors.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Kevin Durant","caption":"Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant reacts during the second half of Game 7 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals against the Golden State Warriors in Oakland, Calif., on May 30, 2016.","creditText":"Marcio Jose Sanchez—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/nba/","name":"NBA"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4392675/kevin-durant-golden-state-warriors/","name":"Kevin Durant Says He Will Sign With Golden State Warriors"}}]}] ```