Perhaps, as the saying goes, time truly does heal all wounds. Kevin Durant did not exactly depart the Golden State Warriors in 2019 with a positive attitude. However, four years later, in only Durant’s second-ever game at Chase Center, the two-time champion and MVP of the Finals with the Warriors was given an emotional send-off worthy of someone who brought the team to the verge of an inevitable victory for three years in a row.

The Dubs played a highlight clip featuring their former star’s biggest hits as a member of the franchise, including the biggest shots he made with the team in the NBA Finals, before tip-off in the Warriors’ 2023–24 season opener versus Durant’s Phoenix Suns. Durant acknowledged the praise from the Chase Center crowd, demonstrating that he was aware of the shoutout.

Recently, there has been a slight resurgence of affection for Kevin Durant among the Warriors team and fan base. When the subject of Durant’s retirement from the jersey came up, team governor Joe Lacob made sure to emphasize that nobody else will ever wear Durant’s recognizable “35” jersey number while he is still employed by the company. To Lacob’s credit, many others felt that this was the right move—despite Durant’s brief tenure with the Dubs, he was a part of the team’s best iterations and made them an incomprehensible puzzle for the other 29 NBA teams while he was in Oakland.

The Warriors organization considered repurchasing Durant during the previous season, long before the Suns made a surprise trade for him from the Nets. Though it might just be a pipe dream at this point, it’s evident that the Dubs organization is still open to the idea of possibly reconciling with the future Hall of Famer.

Durant can count on seeing his number “35” hanging among the numbers of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Andre Iguodala on the rafters of Chase Center, at the very least.