The Oklahoma City Thunder seemed destined to win a championship with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Serge Ibaka after the group fell to the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals in 2011-12. Ultimately, however, the group never played another game together as Harden was dealt to the Houston Rockets that offseason.
Durant was able to win two championships with the Golden State Warriors, while Ibaka won one title with the Toronto Raptors. Westbrook and Harden, however, remain in search of their first ring as it is the only thing missing from both players Hall of Fame resumes.
The 2013-14 MVP recently appeared on the "Mind the Game" podcast with LeBron James and Steve Nash. He discussed Harden's departure from the Thunder, revealing that he believes the team was ahead of schedule.
"I think we exceeded expectations with that team," Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant stated. "And when you reach the Finals and you go through a run like that so quick, I don't think a GM or owner was ready for that. You expecting a team that's 22, 23 - we sped up the timeline. All of us. Each individual player."
Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
"Serge, he came out of nowhere," Durant continued. "He came around and ended up being the best shot blocker in the league. I'm averaging 30 at 21 years old. Russell is 22 years old, he's an All-Star. James, Sixth Man (of the Year) at 22. So, we exceeded the timeline so they wasn't ready for that. That's just my theory. I don't know exactly what Sam (Presti) was thinking or the owner, but my theory is that I don't think they were ready exactly for us to be contenders every year."
"So, since then, since we reached the Finals, you're supposed to upgrade and fine tune and make changes around," Durant added. "You can't just pull one of the key figures of your team off the team and expect us to continue on what we was doing. I just think they were kind of shocked at how good we got so fast. Sometimes, you get confused."
Durant noted that, at the time, Presti was a young general manager trying to understand the landscape of the NBA. He added that the team was ahead of their time and things happened too quickly.
The decision to send Harden to the Rockets ultimately led to the Thunder failing to return to the NBA Finals until finally winning it all in 2024-25. Many expected the pairing of him, Durant and Westbrook to become one of the best trios the league has ever seen.
While all three players would go on to become MVP's, nobody could have projected that their Game 5 loss in the 2012 NBA Finals would be the last time they all played together. The two sides were reportedly just $4.5 million apart over the length of the four-year deal. To make matters worse, the front office likely could have used the amnesty clause on Kendrick Perkins to create the cap space to retain Harden.
More NBA: Rockets star Kevin Durant discusses the role he played in his former team's success