It looks like Dennis Rodman has some competition for the most famous NBA Pearl Jam fan. Kevin Durant, who plays for the NBA champion Golden State Warriors, wore a vintage 1992 Pearl Jam t-shirt during a recent visit to India. See the photos below via Times of India.
Durant played for the Seattle SuperSonics in their final season before moving to Oklahoma City and becoming the Thunder. Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament is a huge SuperSonics fan, and was asked a few years ago in a Rolling Stone interview if the SuperSonics drafting Durant gave him hope they might stay in Seattle at the time it happened.
“The Sonics moving really happened overnight. Like, they were sold and Clay Bennett immediately said ‘We’re gonna keep the team here, blah, blah’ and within 4 or 5 months they were gone. That whole thing is a sore topic for anyone who’s really in the know.
They kept using the arena [as a reason to move]. David Stern kept saying ‘the arena is the worst arena in the league.’ I actually went on a couple of radio shows just to clear it up and say ‘I’ve played in all of these arenas and it is clearly not the worst in the league. It’s clearly middle-of-the-pack.’ Places like Auburn Hills and the Target Center were worse than KeyArena was at that time. There’s a lot of arenas that are in worse shape today.
I think it was political. I think a lot of it had to do with Oklahoma City sort of saving the New Orleans franchise after Katrina and you know, some back-room payoff. There’s a great documentary out there on the whole thing called Sonicsgate. The guys that made the movie have been vigilant about staying on top of the story.”
