Kevin Durant has some choice words for Stephen A. Smith and others

The Nets star has never hidden the fact that he doesn’t like much of what the media has to say about the sport, but this week he went to war.

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith angers Kevin Durant with Michael Jordan comments

When Stephen A. Smith recently accused Michael Jordan of having a negative effect on the game of basketball through his “individualization the sport,” some raised eyebrows, some laughed and there were some who nodded in agreement. Smith’s argument was based on the notion that in the era that came after Jordan, the NBA focused more on players rather than collectivism as a result of the search for the next big name. A change that he argues had a damning effect on the sport.

“Michael Jordan is responsible as much as anybody for changing the game for worse,” Smith said. “He was so phenomenal that the NBA marketed the individual, the audience gravitated towards the individual and the game became a bit more individualized. ...What I’m saying is you were thinking ‘team’ until Jordan elevated it to another level. And from Jordan then you had the Kobes and the Vince Carters and others that came along thereafter and the individualization of the sport – particularly because of the money that came with it – became more of a focal point.” Nets star Kevin Durant was quick to respond and in a tweet on Thursday suggested that if anyone is to blame it’s media personalities like Smith, Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe rather than the players. Needless to say that lit the fuse. It wasn’t long before social media was alight with tweets from fans and journalists alike. Smith declared that there are “thousands more” media personalities like himself who are “not going away.”

Kevin Durant has a history with the media

Though you probably already know this, the former league MVP has a history with the media. In fact if you haven’t been paying attention some of the exchanges between the Nets’ main man and journalists have been legendary. Indeed, Durant has taken no prisoners when he’s decided to go after a journalist or fan and he’s done so on many occasions. Just last year he called out Shannon Sharpe of “Undisputed” talking about a fake quote and then posted a photo showing Sharpe blocked Durant on Twitter. There was also the time Durant let Chris Broussard have it in 2019 for implying that if the Warriors for whom Durant was playing at the time managed to win a title without him, it would be his “worst nightmare.” Durant wasn’t having that.

Let’s not forget that time that C.J. McCollum was also in Durant’s cross hairs with the latter calling the then Blazers’ point guard a “snake in the grass in 2018 after McCollum called Durant’s decision to play for the Warriors “soft.” The list doesn’t even end there, as many will recall way back in 2015, when Durant called NBA writer Chris Palmer a “dumba**.”

Is there any rhyme to Kevin Durant’s reason?

It should be said, however, that much of this stemmed from the idea that Durant - at least according to himself - indicated that he felt he was unfairly treated by the media in comparison with his teammates. The big man would eventually go public with his frustrations about how he had apparently been misrepresented by the media during his time playing with the Golden State Warriors. Durant went on to state that he felt isolated from the his teammates and more over believed that he was criticized more intensely in comparison to them.

“I just think I deserved a little bit more respect than that. I came out here and gave back money, sacrificed my name, and went out here and sacrificed my body every night to be the best that I can be. I just asked for a little bit more respect to wait until after the season than to badger me every day, all year with questions like that [about free agency]. I thought it was unfair to me and the whole group to even think about anything that was going to happen after the year. It was unprofessional, in my opinion.” Whether you agree or not, rest assured there will be more rounds in this fight so watch this space!