For Kevin Durant, what’s done is done … no ‘what if’s’

Not long after the Milwaukee Bucks were crowned NBA champions, Kevin Durant went on Twitter to congratulate Milwaukee on their first NBA championship in 50 years. It was the right thing to do.

No talk about a foot on the line or Kyrie Irving’s ankle sprain or James Harden’s hamstring. Later, during a press conference in Tokyo with Team USA, KD expanded on his thinking, a month after the Nets lost Game 7 to the Bucks in an overtime killer. No what ifs?

“Not really,” Durant said after Team USA practice in Tokyo. “I mean, you played (to win). No moral victories you know? You only want to be last team standing in the NBA Finals, in the playoffs. So, no.

“I mean, we understand how good we are, and our goal wasn’t just to push the Bucks: Our goal was to win it. Unfortunately we didn’t. But congrats to the Bucks. They’re an amazing team who fought through a lot these last few years to get to this point, so nothing but respect for them.”

KD also suggested the Bucks could even turn into a “dynasty,” a word he said he doesn’t use lightly.

“I know it’s the first chip and a lot of people call you a dynasty after a few (titles), but the continuity of that team is something that’s impressive and how they continue to build and add and now they’re champions, and you can appreciate that,” Durant said. “To see a couple of friends become champions today was cool. That experience doesn’t happen for just anybody, so you respect that journey.”

Durant did not react to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s comments about superteams, the kind of team Sean Marks had put together in Brooklyn … and an idea the Finals MVP eschewed when he signed a $228 million, five year extension with the Bucks earlier this season.

“I wanted to get the job done. But that’s my stubborn side. It’s easy to go somewhere and go win a championship with somebody else,” said Antetokounmpo after a performance for the ages both in Game 6 and in the playoffs. “It’s easy.

“I could go to…I don’t want to put anybody on the spot, but I could go to a superteam and just do my part and win a championship. But this is the hard way to do it, and this is the way we chose to do it. And we did it. We f–king did it.”

The “The Big Three” will be back in Brooklyn next season, ready to make their own championship drive. And Brooklyn was installed as the betting favorite by two sports books William Hill and BetMGM, Tuesday night, with the Lakers also ahead of the newly crowned champs.

• Kevin Durant won’t dwell on ‘what ifs’ after Bucks championship – Brian Lewis – New York Post
• Kevin Durant calls Bucks a ‘dynasty’ as NBA Finals reinforcements head to Olympics to join Team USA – Joe Vardon – The Athletic NBA