Kevin Durant and Stephen A. Smith have a history. Back in 2015, Smith linked KD to the Lakers. Wrong. Then in 2019, he linked Durant to the Knicks. Wrong again. Durant was not pleased.
So while Smith has regularly defended Durant against those who would suggest he is not the best player on the planet, Durant is always ready to do battle when he feels Smith has gone too far on all matters NBA, not just his game.
So when Stephen A. suggested that Steph Curry had changed the game for the better while Michael Jordan had changed it for the worse (!!), KD pounced on his favorite medium...
My theory is that guys like steve, skip and Shannon have changed the game for the worse. Playas like Stephen and Michael can only push the game forward. https://t.co/0Oc9J2HqxS
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) June 2, 2022
Well now. Stephen A. wasn’t going to let that stand. Du-Rant on...
“I’m going to be very respectful because I happen to love Kevin Durant. I think he’s the best player on the planet when healthy and I actually think he’s a very good guy. A bit truculent with this attitude — always got attitude with somebody. It’s just unnecessary sometimes, but I still got love for him,” Smith said. “There’s nothing he can really say to me that’s gonna make me attack him. I think he’s a phenomenal basketball player, a future Hall of Famer, a champion, a two-time NBA Finals MVP. I’ll always have love for him no matter what.
“The only reason I feel the need to address this comment is because where did it come from? When I reached out to KD he didn’t want to answer that question and that’s his prerogative and what he and I exchange between us is our business. But I will tell you this, all I said was that Michael Jordan was so phenomenal that people focused on marketing him and promoting the individual as opposed to the team and that didn’t necessarily help the game of basketball to a certain degree because on many, many occasions we’ve lamented the absence of team basketball. That’s all I was trying to say. Nothing more. I don’t understand where it came from.”
Did it end there? Oh no. Smith suggested that KD was trying to silence him and other pundits!
“But I will tell you this, fellas need to get over it, because as I said yesterday on Twitter and I’ll say it again on national television, the Stephen A. Smiths of the world are not going anywhere,” he said. “I’m here now, and there’ll be hundreds if not thousands that will follow. These guys don’t want to talk, they don’t want to be accountable and who the hell are we to tell them anything. So watch the game and shut the hell up and enjoy their greatness and make sure they get paid their money without giving any commentary whatsoever. You want to control the damn narrative all the time. You’re not doing it. You don’t get to get rid of us. We’re here and we’re going to be here.”
Back to you, Kevin.
Nah these media members are sensitive. As soon as an athlete disagrees with these outlandish hot takes y’all take it as a personal shot at your character lol it’s insane how y’all can’t take what y’all dish out. But it’s the athletes who lack mental toughness
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) June 3, 2022
It’s only a matter of time before the next chapter.
- Stephen A. Smith escalates latest round of Kevin Durant feud - Ryan Glasspiegel - New York Post
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