NFL star Tom Brady persuaded Kevin Durant to go with the Warriors despite being sent in to assist Durant in joining the Celtics.

After playing for Seattle and Oklahoma for the first nine years of his career, KD was unsure about which team to sign when he became a free agent in 2016.

Recently, Rich Kleiman, Durant’s longtime business manager, remembered a meeting he and KD had with Boston in the summer of 2016.

“When the Celtics came, it was the Celtics ownership and Danny Ainge, and then like Jae Crowder and I think Kelly Olynyk was there,” Kleiman said on All the Smoke.

“But here came Tom Brady. So it was like, ‘Alright, sh*t, they’re really trying to level the playing field.”

Having the then-4x Super Bowl champion at the meeting actually almost swayed Durant to join the C’s.

“I was ready to just say, ‘All right. Let’s go. I’m ready to go,’ seeing [Brady] there,” Durant told the Boston Herald in 2016. “Just seeing someone so successful at his craft and just a great ambassador for the game of football and the city of Boston, it was just great to be in the presence of greatness.”

But, Brady had some private advice to Durant, which ultimately led him to pick the Warriors instead of the Celtics, Kleiman explained.

“Tom and [Kevin Durant] went to take a walk,” Kleiman said. “Later on, KD was like, ‘He told me to, bottom line, look for the best team, best organization, best chance to win no matter what. I think Brady just told me to go to the Warriors.’”

Durant did indeed sign with the Warriors, who were coming off a defeat to LeBron’s Cavaliers in the NBA Finals, despite all the criticism.

With KD helping the Dubs win back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018, Golden State appeared to be a fantastic fit for him. He was named Finals MVP in both of those series.

He also teamed up with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson to form one of the best shooting trios in history.

Thus, Tom Brady deserves a great deal of gratitude from Golden State!