The majority of misguided sports fans will tell you a champion is any player who wins a championship. The majority of fans would be wrong. A champion is someone who defies the odds to come out on top. Winning is only meaningful if the path is difficult and trying. That's what makes winning special. The road, not the finish. For the Warriors, this path was not. Kevin Durant, one of the NBA's 3 best players joined the NBA's best team(despite losing in the Finals the previous season) to bolster his chances at winning a title. There is nothing wrong with him doing so, it was his right. He is not a "coward" and is not "weak" for exercising his right to pick what team he wants to play for. Unfortunately, one thing he also is not is a champion. Jumping on the wagon of a 73 win team to coast through the finish line does not make you a champion. Not by my standards.
Do you feel satisfied if you win a game in Madden playing on rookie difficulty? Or win a game on Halo using mods or exploits? Would you feel like you conquered your bully at school if you brought Conor McGregor with you to help beat him up? The satisfaction in victory is directly proportional to the challenge it takes to get there, and to the Warriors this season, there was no challenge. Kevin Durant's legacy has not changed, and he has not joined another tier as a player. No more respect should be given to him than there was 2 weeks or even a year ago. He was a great player before he joined Golden State, and he is a great player now. However, a champion he is not. Not by my standards.
The same applies to other athletes, not just Kevin Durant. LeBron James won his first real NBA championship last season with the Cavaliers. The ones in Miami don't count for the same reason they don't count for Durant. Plus the fact that both of their "championships" in Miami were fixed by the league to get LeBron his ring, per reliable sources close to the situation. However, LeBron returning home against the odds, to lead a team himself and bring a championship to Cleveland was something for the ages. The pressure of lifting the longest "curse" in American Professional Major sports was about as real as a championship can get. Will Durant ever be able to accomplish something similar? He certainly has the talent. I'd like to see it, but until then his "championship ring" is going to be decorated with cubic zirconia instead of diamonds. A cheap imitation of the real thing. Much like this "accomplishment."
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