This aspect right here is why the decision was so shocking. For years Golden State and Oklahoma City had tough battles that went down to the wire (the Iggy and Westbrook game winners in 2014, Durant's career-high against the Dubs in 2014, and then him going off for 30 in the first half in 2015 before getting hurt). Those matchups weren't exactly all smiles either. The Green-Adams incident goes without saying, and I distincly remember Durant and Curry getting into it in Game 2 of the WCF
Then there were the narratives being formed. The Thunder were supposed to be the team that had next, but then Durant got hurt in 2015 and the Warriors leapfrogged them to the title. The Warriors had taken the Thunder's spot, and Stephen Curry had personally taken Durant's spot as the one to challenge LeBron James for the title of best player.
That whole 2016 season was about Durant and Westbrook setting out to reclaim their status in the league. That year was so compelling because of the power struggle going on with the top players. You had LeBron, Curry and Durant all vying for a throne that for the first time in years was legitimately up for grabs (best player in the world). It certainly made the league more interesting than it is now
