10 Athletes Who Betrayed Fans By Joining Their Team's Rival

There's an old saying: "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em." There's been no other glaring example in recent memory that propels the old adage as much as the tale of Kevin Durant. While the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors aren't old foes, the two franchises have been blossoming one of the NBA's most popular rivalries of the past decade.

From 2007 to 2016, Durant was a member of the Thunder, winning the league's Most Valuable Player Award in 2014 and reaching six All Star Games. When the Warriors improved and started dominating the Western Conference, Durant was still looking for his first NBA Finals Championship, and couldn't get beyond the Warriors in the playoffs.

In the 2016 Western Conference Finals, Durant and the Thunder held a 3-1 advantage over the Warriors, only to blow their series lead and watch as the Warriors eventually won the NBA title. Durant became a free agent after the season, but nobody thought he would land with the Warriors due to their massive contracts.

Durant took $6 million less than other offers to sign a two-year deal with the Warriors following the season, and fans instantly accused him of chasing a title and only joining his rivals since he couldn't beat them head-to-head. Thunder fans wore shirts adorning a certain dessert and chanted at him after Durant had said some of the players on the Thunder were soft, calling them "cupcakes."

In his first season, Durant would get the last laugh as his team won the 2017 NBA Finals, winning the NBA Finals MVP Award, while the Thunder were bounced in the first round by the Houston Rockets.