Kevin Durant defended his move from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Golden State Warriors.

Durant received a fair share of criticism after his decision to join a record setting team that had defeated him in the 2016 NBA Western Conference Finals.

Many accused Durant of taking the “easy road” in making the decision.

Durant, however, claimed that he did not join the Warriors in order to find an easy path to winning his first NBA Championship.

“Nothing in this league is easy,” said Durant. “There’s no shortcuts. We’ve still got 82 games to play. I think this is the hardest road because I don’t know anybody here, I’ve never lived in this community, never played for this team, and I took a leap.”

Durant also explained that it was difficult to leave the team that drafted him and for whom he played every minute of his nine year NBA career.

“The call to Oklahoma City was the hardest thing I’ve had to do in my life,” said Durant. “Tears were shed, but it was the journey for me. I trusted my gut and my instincts. It was an unpopular decision, but I can live with it.”

Durant added that leaving long time friend, Russell Westbrook, was also difficult.

“Obviously, it’s tough. We were teammates for so long, we had a lot of great memories. I’m sure [Russell] wasn’t happy about the decision, but he respected it as my friend. Our relationship was great. We had some great years that you could never take away from us,” said Durant.