Kevin Durant wants to be in the GOAT conversation.

Kevin Durant has one of the most interesting careers in NBA history. He’s one of the greatest NBA players ever, but he’s yet to receive the respect he feels like he deserves. In Durant’s own eyes, he should be in the GOAT conversation.

During an interview with Duane Rankin of Arizona Republic, Durant gave a controversial statement about why he believes he’s not included in the GOAT conversation – it has to do with his Warriors tenure.

“Because I went to the Warriors,” Durant said in an exclusive interview with The Republic. “Why shouldn’t I be in that? That’s the question you should ask. Why not? What haven’t I done?”

Kevin Durant is a 2x NBA Champion, 2x NBA Finals MVP, 1x NBA MVP, 13x NBA All-Star, 2x NBA All-Star MVP, 6x All-NBA First Team member, NBA Rookie of the Year, and a 4x NBA Scoring Champion. He’s done nearly everything there is to do besides win Defensive Player of the Year or be on an All-Defensive Team. While he shouldn’t exactly be in the GOAT conversation, Durant still won’t get the respect he deserves because of his Warriors tenure.

It’s not just Durant who doesn’t get his flowers from the 2016-2019 Warriors superteam years, but Steph Curry as well. If Curry won his 4 rings without Kevin Durant, he’d very easily be considered the greatest point guard of all time. Those years give critics the ammunition to discredit Curry as well, but the only difference is that he’s won without Durant.

Joining the Golden State Warriors seems to be the elephant-in-the-room conversation for Kevin Durant that will follow him for the rest of his career, unless Durant finally gets his coveted ring without being a member of the Warriors. That conversation will very easily be simmered down once that moment happens.