When James Harden re-joined forces with Kevin Durant on the Brooklyn Nets in 2021, many believed the Nets had vaulted themselves as the frontrunners to win the title. Unfortunately, injuries ruined that season, but many saw the vision for what the Nets could be with Durant, Harden, and Kyrie Irving.
However, Harden had a public falling out with the team a year later, which led to a trade to the Philadelphia 76ers. Many wondered why Harden bailed on what looked like a fantastic situation. Among those who still question is Durant.
What Did Kevin Durant Say About James Harden’s Exit From Brooklyn?
Both Durant and Harden were featured in the newest season of Netflix’s “Starting 5.” The two of them have since moved on to entirely new situations, but when asked about what went down with Harden and Brooklyn, Durant made a pretty blunt statement about the situation in a clip aggregated by the X account Stunna.
“Ask him about that (expletive) about why he left Brooklyn like that,” Durant said while laughing. “Hopefully since he on the Netflix special, he’s gonna be a little more real than if he was doing a press conference about it”
Kevin Durant talks about James Harden leaving Brooklyn
“Ask him about that shit…about why he left Brooklyn like that [laughs], hopefully since he on the Netflix special, he going to be a lil more real than he would be doing a press conference about it”pic.twitter.com/vu7bEKM1cV
— 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘢☆ (@Stunna999_) October 16, 2025
Even though the Nets had the league’s best trio, there were several problems going on around the time Harden decided he had had enough of Brooklyn. Outside of himself, Durant, and Irving, Brooklyn did not possess much surrounding talent around them. The team was in trouble if one or more of those three went down.
Irving’s well-documented refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine also interfered with things. The writing may have been on the wall even before the public fallout, as Harden chose not to extend with the Nets before the 2021-22 season, though he had stated at that time that he had no intentions of leaving.
Harden’s falling out was the beginning of the end for the Nets. After they finally resolved the issue, Durant wanted out the following offseason, and Brooklyn would grant him the trade request half a year later, along with Irving. Since then, Brooklyn has entered a rebuild, but making the situation worse is knowing that those three together would have done some real damage.
However, a team on paper vs what it is on the court are two very different scenarios. Whatever Harden’s reasons were, that Nets team will go down as perhaps the team that failed to reach their potential in the worst possible way.
