Kevin Durant once took a swipe at the Blazers after he was the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA All-Star Draft
The year 2018 was the first one when the NBA changed the All-Star game format from the traditional East vs West matchup to one where the top vote-getters from each conference drafted their team members.
That year, LeBron James earned the most votes among all Eastern Conference, while Steph Curry was the leading vote-getter in the West. As such, they were named team captains and were tasked to pick their respective teams. LeBron was drafted first, and his first pick was Kevin Durant, taking him away from his Golden State teammate.
When KD was informed about the All-Star draft results, he said he looked forward to playing against his Warriors teammates but also took a swipe at the Portland Trail Blazers, who missed out on the opportunity of having Durant play for their franchise.
"Well, finally, someone picked me number one," said Durant. "That feels pretty good."
The Blazers picked Greg Oden over Kevin Durant
Durant didn't feel good when the Portland Trail Blazers picked Greg Oden over him in the 2007 NBA Draft. But perhaps what ticked Durant more was Portland's reasoning behind the pick, as revealed by GM Kevin Pritchard after his team won the 2007 Draft Lottery.
"In reality, I think both of the players that are at the top of this draft have championship qualities," Pritchard told Draft Express. "...Obviously, one's a center, and one's a small forward, but I'm the kind of GM who really looks at the best player available. I don't really care what position it is."
There's no question that Oden was dominant at Ohio State, but Durant was special. It didn't take long for the Blazers to realize they made a mistake. Oden underwent surgery even before he played his first NBA game. That was the first of many injuries that eventually forced him to retire after playing a mere 105 regular-season games in seven years.
They owned up to their mistake
Meanwhile, Durant won Rookie of the Year honors in 2008 and became one of the best players in the history of the NBA. KD won MVP honors in 2014 and went on to win back-to-back NBA championships with the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018, winning Finals MVP honors during both title runs.
But despite achieving great success throughout his NBA career, KD never forgot that the Blazers picked Greg Oden over him in the '07 draft and made sure that they remembered after learning that he was LeBron's No.1 pick in the All-Star Draft. Apparently, the Blazers heard what KD said and admitted that they erred in '07
NBA history would have been much different had the Portland Trail Blazers picked KD over Oden in 2007. But just as they did in 1984 when they took Sam Bowie over a player named Michael Jordan, the Blazers fumbled the bag again by taking Greg Oden over Kevin Durant in the 2007 NBA Draft.
