The Phoenix Suns fought back from trailing by nine in the fourth quarter, went to overtime and came away with a gritty 116-113 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!With every point mattering until the final buzzer, Kevin Durant stepped up and led Phoenix with 25 points and seven rebounds to pick up the first win of the season.
While it wasn’t the prettiest game by any means, Durant and the Suns found a way to win inside the hostile environment that the brand-new Intuit Dome brought to life.
After watching what transpired, however, someone notable from ESPN gave his thoughts on Durant and how he feels about the star.
Leadership criticized, Durant responds
On the ESPN show “First Take,” popular sports analyst Stephen A. Smith praised Durant as an individual player but doesn’t believe he has the leadership ability to galvanize his teammates and get the most out of them.
“When you talk about Kevin Durant, this is not what we are going to do. We are not going to look at Kevin Durant and just measure him just on his talent, it’s what ability you have to peel out of others,” Smith said. “I think Kevin Durant is one of the greatest talents this game has ever seen, I think what he has done for the game of basketball and being an ambassador is to be afforded. The flip side to all of that is that he has been relatively leaderless. He’s been very lacking in inspiration in terms of peeling out from those around him.
“He’ll show up. If it is a Game 1 or a Game 7, Kevin Durant is going to show up and he is going to ball out. But does he get the others around him to do it? Not only does he not do it, he doesn’t feel the level of responsibility I think he should feel in getting it out of him. When you are that great and you warrant that much respect, you should be able to be a better leader than he has shown. Because that hasn’t been the case, whether it was in Oklahoma City, whether it was later on in Brooklyn, why am I going to believe that is something you are going to do in Phoenix?”
Not long after the clip emerged on social media, Durant took to X/Twitter and responded, believing he has what it takes to do everything necessary to help his team no matter what.
“I would disagree Stephen. I would argue, passionately, that my intangibles have always been on par with my talent,” Durant said.
I would disagree stephen. I would argue, passionately, that my intangibles have always been on par with my talent
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) October 24, 2024
A fan then challenged Durant for not speaking up enough to teammates and holding them accountable.
Durant came back with, “Brother, respectfully, you’ve never been in a gym with me to know if I need to speak up or not. You’re just guessing with no information on the subject. Be better.”
Brother, respectfully, you’ve never been in a gym with me to know if I need to speak up or not. You’re just guessing with no information on the subject. Be better
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) October 24, 2024
Another person then continued the conversation by trying to check him for not having “superstar responsibilities,” and Durant had none of it.
“Respectfully, you don’t know what it takes to be in my shoes so u have zero clue about superstar responsibilities. You are making an educated guess, which you’re entitled to, but you’re 1000000% wrong and it’s okay, that’s why the teacher is here to correct you,” Durant said.
Respectfully, you don’t know what it takes to be in my shoes so u have zero clue about superstar responsibilities. You are making a educated guess, which you’re entitled to, but you’re 1000000% wrong and it’s okay, that’s why the teacher is here to correct u
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) October 24, 2024
Durant is beginning his second full season with the Suns after being traded by the Brooklyn Nets in 2023. In 84 total games for Phoenix, he is averaging 27.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game.
The Suns hope he, Bradley Beal and Devin Booker can all stay relatively healthy this season as they push for an NBA championship. Phoenix finished 49-33 last year, were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves 4-0 and have not progressed to the NBA Finals since Durant arrived in the Valley.
It will be a long season with twists and turns along the way, but this will not be the first or last time something goes viral of someone talking about Durant.
*Get the BEST Phoenix sports insider information, and exclusive content. SIGN UP HEREÂ to unlock our premium content!*
Reporter Alec Cipollini covers the Phoenix Mercury, Suns and ASU Athletics for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
