2) Is Kevin Durant poised to be the team’s next Villain?
Mike Bossetti
He plays for a rival, talked trash about the organization, and is always ready to argue with fans. You couldn’t draft a better villain than Kevin Durant if you tried. He’s also one of the league’s best players, which makes the rivalry more fun.
The hard part for Raptor fans, is that because of his injury and the way Toronto handled it, Durant will always be viewed as the “good guy” of this rivalry. Durant’s likeability has skyrocketed since he tore his Achilles, and the poor reaction of Raptor fans, won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
Most of that’s fair. Some of it isn’t. Either way, it’s Toronto vs the world. And Toronto vs KD.
Zak McDonald:
There’s a great case to be made for KD to be the team’s next villain. He had coarse words for the Raptors in his last finals run as a Warrior; There’s a playoff rivalry with Durant and Raptors ambassador Drake; He plays for our most hated rival.
However, I believe the team’s next villain should be Kawhi Leonard. I get it, he helped us win a championship, he seems like a nice guy but… he left us! Kawhi bolted from the Raptors to play for a second-rate LA team, and as happy as I am that we won a title, I personally hope Kawhi Leonard loses every game he plays in for the rest of his career.
Geethan Viswathasan:
Seeing as Kawhi Leonard won’t have much of an impact on the team’s success next season, I will double down and say yes, KD is going to be the Raptors Reaper.
If he returns to his pre-injury MVP-caliber form, having him in the Atlantic Division alone will be a challenge. He went from being wooed at OVO Fest by optimistic Raptors fans, to being cheered for all the wrong reasons by those same fans.
By dismissing the future of the franchise he has re-ignited a rivalry. When Durant returns to the court, expect things to heat back up.
Go Paolo:
He will do to the Raptors what LeBron and Kobe have done to them historically: torch them. But unlike these two, this will feel more personal and little more painful.
The Raptors were KD’s childhood team and for some of the fans to do him dirty during the NBA Finals, it’s a recipe for payback. KD will get extra motivated to stick it to Toronto and leave some not-so-subtle verbal shots after.