Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets are a couple days removed from being swept by the Boston Celtics in the playoffs. Social media trolls wasted no time in going after Durant for his poor play and “failing to win”. But Durant had time, and he loves nothing better than going back and forth with Twitter trolls.
“I’m not about to delete my Twitter fam,” Durant tweeted to another user who suggested he delete the app. “F-ck that lol.”
I’m not bouta delete my twitter fam, fuck that lol
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) April 27, 2022
TNT’s “Inside the NBA” crew, led by Charles Barkley, came at Durant this week, essentially saying his two titles with the Warriors were fraudulent because Durant was not the “bus driver” on those teams. Despite Durant winning Finals MVP both times.
Chuck responds to Kevin Durant pic.twitter.com/bqyhddFUmv
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 26, 2022
Durant responded to the initial slight from Barkley and sent a tweet referencing the army of TNT producers, coming at him.
An army of producers against the god. Just Another Tuesday https://t.co/yxHlYT8Efl
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) April 26, 2022
This is all entertainment and theater. There is a reason why “Inside the NBA” is the longest-running show covering the league. This is what they do. Fans tune in to hear Chuck, Shaq, and Kenny clown teams and players.
Durant is the perfect target because they know he sees and hears everything said about him and will respond. The content machine feeds itself. It’s easy money.
Durant’s going to have plenty of time to respond to any and all trolls and haters, so fans and media personalities know what to do if they want content.
As for Chuck’s “bus driver” comment, everyone understands what he’s trying to say, but that alpha dog, hero ball style of talking about basketball is antiquated. Despite what fans think, basketball isn’t five individual games of one-on-one. It’s a team game.
One amazing player with four guys from LA Fitness can’t win an NBA title. You need talented scorers, defenders, playmakers, high IQ players, etc. All working in concert to have the best opportunity to win.
Sure there is a “best player,” but he can’t do everything.
As it relates to Durant, in nine seasons with the current Oklahoma City franchise as the “bus driver” he made the playoffs six times. In those six playoff runs KD’s Thunder made four conference finals appearances and an NBA Finals appearance. Pretty good results for the “bus driver.”
Looking at his time with the Warriors, he was the league leader in WS/48 his first season. the stat that has accurately predicted NBA MVP the last 12 seasons, except that season. The Warriors needed Durant as much as he needed them.
The 73-win team did not win the NBA title. They in fact blew a 3-1 series lead in the Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers. There is a reason Draymond Green and the Warriors recruited Durant.
In two seasons in Brooklyn as the “bus driver” the team made one conference semifinals and got swept. The team that made the conference semis lost to the eventual champion Milwaukee Bucks in seven, and there was no Kyrie Irving and an injured James Harden.
This season was a disaster, and if you want to blame Durant for being a horrible general manager and hitching his future to the enigmatic Irving, that’s all fair. But the idea that he’s some kind of failure as the “bus driver” is just theater.
