OKLAHOMA CITY – From the Washington Nationals' curly "W" tattoo on his abdomen, to the Redskins socks he slipped on after leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to a a 124-103 rout of the Phoenix Suns Sunday night, Kevin Durant has never been able to hide the heart-tugging connection with his hometown.

Durant has always been able to separate his rooting interests from his personal, professional interests but that challenge became more difficult once the countdown to his free agency drew closer and the team he used to ride the green line Metro to watch as kid started angling to move to the front of a long line for his services in the summer of 2016. Two days before he made his lone visit to Washington – where he is assured of seeing a rabid sellout crowd making its last regular-season pitch for its favorite son – Durant jokingly tried to act oblivious to what was in store.

"What game?" Durant said, cracking a smile.

What game? The game that Durant has to be relieved will be played in the second week of November, without some long, drawn-out build-up of hype and anticipation. The game that Durant will be able to put behind him so that he and the Thunder can spend the rest of the season focusing on learning the system of first-year coach Billy Donovan and the pursuit of a championship. The game that will serve as one of the most heavily scrutinized of his visits, given its potential as a possible landing spot should Durant elect to leave Oklahoma City. Yeah, that game.

View photos Kevin Durant is preparing for his only regular-season visit to Washington. (NBAE/Getty Images_ More

"First of all, it's always an elephant in the room when you're talking about that stuff. I don't want to, like, totally just dodge it. I know it's coming. I know the situation," Durant said. "But I'm really focusing on how I can be better every game. And how I can get back – I don't want say get back, because I'm back – but get used to playing again. All that other stuff is going to come, but we'll wait until we get to that bridge when we cross it."

Regardless of how uncomfortable the attention will make him, the next eight months will largely revolve around Durant and any tea leaves hinting at his possible leanings. He arguably will be the most sought after free agent since LeBron James in 2010, or possibly ever; a four-time scoring champion and one-time MVP still in his prime at a time when an expanding salary cap will give dozens of teams the financial means to chase him.

Rumors and speculation about his future have been circulating for at least two years but Durant has managed to hit the mute button on most of the noise. With his franchise in the midst of a critical campaign, and so much hinging on what he eventually decides, Durant has tried to deflect or avoid much of the attention that could separate him from the team. While that will change some Tuesday at Verizon Center, as his free agency hijacks the headlines, Durant said navigating through that aspect of this season has hardly been overwhelming.

"It really hasn't been like that. I was in Houston, and it was not bad. It's not like ESPN is following us every trip. Nobody has really asked me about it, to be honest," Durant said.

Durant remembers the environment he encountered last season when the Thunder made their lone visit last January and Wizards fans with conflicted loyalties fawned over him, holding "KD2DC" signs and wearing Wizards No. 35 jerseys with "Durant" on the back. During one bizarre scene in the arena, a sponsored weather promotion briefly showed Durant photoshopped in a Washington jersey on the jumbo screen in the fourth quarter of the Thunder's overtime win.

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