Known for speaking his mind, Kevin Durant has some frank words for NBA media personality Stephen A. Smith, after he again questioned KD’s leadership abilities at the Suns.
Durant was fed up with SAS’ opinions it seems and spoke his mind in an interview with The Athletic published Sunday.
“Yeah, Stephen A., I don’t understand how people even listen to Stephen A.,” Durant told the Athletic Saturday night. “I’ve been in the league for 18 years. I’ve never seen Stephen A. at a practice, or a film session, or a shoot-around. I’ve never seen him anywhere but on TV talking (expletive) about players. … He’s a clown to me. He’s always been a clown. You can write that, too.”
KD’s words were in reponse to a social media clip from First Take late last month, where he dismissed Phoenix as legit title contenders, mostly because of what he sees as Durant’s lack of leadership.
“I don’t question the greatness nor commitment of Kevin Durant,” Smith said at the time. “When you are that great … you should be able to be a better leader than he has shown.”
Durant rsponded on X at the time, “I would disagree stephen. I would argue, passionately, that my intangibles have always been on par with my talent”
.@stephenasmith doesn’t have “much” belief in the Suns with KD as their superstar 👀
“I don’t question the greatness nor commitment of Kevin Durant. … When you are that great … you should be able to be a better leader than he has shown.” pic.twitter.com/0DTd5Vxvfh
— First Take (@FirstTake) October 24, 2024
Durant told the Athletic he was the “same dude” when asked if he has been more vocal this year.
“Obviously, you grow as a human being, you get more comfortable with yourself, you get more comfortable talking to crowds as you experience more and more in the league,” Durant said. “… I’ve always been on this trajectory, of diving deep into the game, not just for myself but for the whole team. To say that I’m just sitting here, you paint this picture of me coming into the locker room, not talking to my teammates, quiet, not talking to my coaches. Like, come on, man. It’s just ridiculous.”
No doubt Smith will have a response to Durant on Monday’s episode of First Take, so stay tuned.
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