Kevin Durant wants to make one thing very clear: He has no issue with Stephen Curry or the rest of the Warriors.
Though it’s been years since he left Golden State for the Brooklyn Nets, fans have continued to wonder what exactly prompted the move. Many speculated that the 11-time All-Star simply didn’t get along with some of his former teammates, pointing to highly publicized confrontation with Draymond Green. Others speculated that KD had become jealous of Warriors’ star Curry, and all the love he received from Bay Area fans.
The theories were fueled by a Wall Street Journal interview in which KD spoke about his time with the Warriors and feeling like he never quite fit in.
“I’ll never be one of those guys,” he said. “As time went on, I started to realize I’m just different from the rest of the guys. It’s not a bad thing. Just my circumstances and how I came up in the league. And on top of that, the media always looked at it like KD and the Warriors. So it’s like nobody could get a full acceptance of me there.”
On Friday night, Durant fired back at fans who were convinced he left the Warriors because he resented Curry, who was the de facto star of the franchise. The 32-year-old athlete insisted there was no truth to the jealousy rumors and challenged fans to provide any evidence that supports the theory.
“I know you some huge Steph fans, but it’s starting to feel like y’all are the ones who are insecure and projecting on me,” he said during a Twitter Spaces conversation. “I don’t give a shit about what people got to say about who’s better on the team, who gets cheered the loudest, That just never mattered to me … Show me any indication of me ever being pissed off about not getting no love in the arena.”
KD went on to say that contrary to what some may believe, he received plenty of support from Warrior fans. He said that narrative was created by the media, and specifically called out Ethan Strauss, the writer of The Victory Machine: The Making and Unmaking of the Warriors Dynasty.
“To believe Ethan Strauss’ book and to take that as word, as law … that makes no sense to me ...” KD continued. “Why do you believe stuff like that? ’Cause It makes sense to you. It got nothing to do with me. You don’t know much about what goes on with the Warriors, so somebody come out with some shit like that, that may seem like they got some intel, you just grab onto it … Why do you believe Ethan Strauss?”
KD also addressed the issue via Twitter on Friday. You can read some of the posts below.
