Kevin Durant’s runs at Rucker Park during the NBA lockout in 2011 remain some of the best street ball moments ever.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Rapper Fat Joe had his own memories of Durant playing at the infamous New York park.
“He scored like 82 points in the third quarter,” Fat Joe said after on the Roomates Show. “He don’t like me telling this story. They chased him out the Rucker, like they wanted to beat him up.”
Durant called out Joe, saying his story was false.
“Another podcast lie,” Durant posted on X in response to the clip. “It was nothing but respect and love out there that night, didn’t feel unsafe for one second.”
Another podcast lie. It was nothing but respect and love out there that night, didn’t feel unsafe for one second https://t.co/D1KgNWREhb
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) April 11, 2024
Durant’s best performance at Rucker came when dropped 66 points when playing for the DC Power in the Entertainers Basketball Classic in his first ever game at the park.
Durant reflected on this moment in an appearance on Boardroom’s Aux Money Podcast released today.
“It’s crazy because going up there I really just wanted to play ball,” Durant said. “I wasn’t really expecting to do s— like that, I didn’t know I was gonna go score 60. I thought it was just cool for the night and (people) were going to get over it. I didn’t think it was going to be this moment that people took to the way they doing it now.
“I done hooped in plenty of parks before, I done had 60 in other parks before. But when you just step in that Rucker in New York though, that’s just a different environment. People hanging out their windows, on the fence. I had no clue it was going to turn into what it turned into. That night was random as hell, like so random. My man just called me the day before like, ‘Yo a few of us just hooping at Rucker.’ I didn’t know how big the game was going to be. I didn’t know who was going to be there.”
Durant was playing in his fifth year with the OKC Thunder at the time.
“I was like, I’m stuck in OKC, I (wasn’t doing) s—, it’s a lockout, I’m bored, I’ll go to New York for the weekend, vibe out,” Durant continued. “I’m just thinking I’m going to go vibe out and party. That was my thought process when I was on the plane. I’m like, I’ll hoop when I’m there just to get some run in. And then it just turned into that.
“That was a memorable night, like when I hit that last 3, and they all ran onto the court, I just had no clue what to do … I was just gazing into the sky, like, ‘Damn, this s— is crazy. This is really it.’ This is what I wanted from basketball was just that moment of I hit four-straight 3s, and the crowd loving it.”
Durant’s career high in an NBA game is 55 points with the Brooklyn Nets in Atlanta against the Hawks on April 2, 2022. His scoring prowess has not slowed down since this Rucker Park moment, as this season he is fifth in the NBA averaging 27.2 points per game with the Suns.
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
