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Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant had, by all accounts, a legendary stint with the Golden State Warriors from 2016 to 2019: three consecutive NBA Finals appearances, two championships and two final MVP awards. But even two years later, a subset of Dubs fans are still debating and working on his abrupt exit, and Durant has no qualms about responding to anyone and anyone who talks about him.
Hence what happened on Friday, when Durant joined a conversation on Twitter Spaces to chat with random Warriors fans about his tenure in the Bay Area. Durant originally played a peacemaker role, claiming he felt appreciated by Warriors fans and was not jealous of Steph Curry, the undisputed most popular player on the team.
“Show me an indication that I’m pissed off that I don’t have love in the arena,” Durant said. “Any video of me getting pissed off. Have you seen this of me? Created? For example,“ I hate my teammates. ”Or, ‘I’m jealous.’ Or, ‘I didn’t get enough fan love.’ What? I saw my jersey all around this arena. ” He added, “Everywhere I went in the Bay Area people showed me love. I never talked about it. So where does it come from?
Rhetorical question! KD has a theory: it’s the media’s fault. Specifically, Ethan Strauss of The Athletic, who wrote a book in 2020 called “The Victory Machine” that Durant doesn’t like.
“Ethan Strauss wrote a book about how I said I was pissed off that I didn’t get love from fans and how jealous I am of Steph and Mo Speights,” Durant said. “Do you believe Ethan Strauss rather than me?” “
In fairness to others on the Twitter Spaces (and Strauss) call, Durant had plenty of opportunities to clarify why he actually left Golden State and what Strauss actually went wrong in his reporting. Instead, Durant mostly objected and reiterated that he had never been jealous of Curry, which I generally believe, but doesn’t change much to the rumors of his departure.
“I don’t care what people have to say about who is the best or who is the most applauded,” Durant said. “It never mattered to me. But over time you all got mad at the media and tried to blame me, like I was making these stories.
Durant says that accounts of his misfortune at Golden State did not exist until the “media” reported his misfortune to Golden State. This is generally how it works. The NBA media is very prone to overstating silly hot gossip, and I’m sure some of the rumors about Durant’s Golden State years aren’t true or are exaggerated. But if KD is saying that the “media” got it wrong, then he might as well be clearing the air for real, rather than going back to a “do you believe this guy over me ??” wave. denial.
Or not ! Discuss why you left Golden State for decades to come! I sincerely respect the fact that Durant will never go offline. Respect to the NBA’s most relevant online presence.
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