OT Kevin Durant is Becoming a Head Case

[Rocktheworld]

His bickering with the media that started his last couple years in OKC became annoying because up until going to Golden State its hard to think of a superstar player who has been treated better than him by the media. It would be like Derek Jeter complaining the media was trying to take him down

Honestly I think deep down he is a meek kid who just wants to play basketball and Xbox, doesn’t want to take on the responsibilities of being a superstar in the NBA. As you said the media has always treated him very well but all top 10 players have to answer tough post-game questions... I think over time having to do that has been wearing on him and now he’s kinda lashing out.

 

[Walker11]

Honestly I think deep down he is a meek kid who just wants to play basketball and Xbox, doesn’t want to take on the responsibilities of being a superstar in the NBA. As you said the media has always treated him very well but all top 10 players have to answer tough post-game questions... I think over time having to do that has been wearing on him and now he’s kinda lashing out.

100%. He has admitted this. In the BS interviews, he says he doesn't want to be famous and doesn't want to be popular and just wants to play ball. He clearly doesn't have the best social skills. He seems like the type of guy who will be completely loyal to the people who have been with him since day 1 but doesn't trust or seem to care about others liking him.

 

[superjohn]

Why don’t you provide everyone a list of acceptable topics of conversation?

Christ you’re unbearable.

Ratner, the next time you talk basketball will he the first time. The constant drive-bys are incredibly lame.

 

[superjohn]

Yeah man. The measure of toughness is totally the bench press! All the cool kids are doing it these days.

Rocko and BigErnMcDork should have a bench off.

 

[UChusky916]

KD, like LeBron after his 'Decision' and move to Miami, is trying too hard to embrace the 'villian' role that he was pegged for by going to the Warriors.

KD's 'tough guy' persona is so fake, it's laughable. Having a burner Twitter account to make himself feel better about anonymous internet trolls just shows how insecure he really is deep down.

The technicals are pure overcompensation. I agree he's in his own head too much. Curious to see where he goes from here, especially if a stacked GS team loses in the playoffs this year.

 

[Lefty2one]

He can say whatever he wants publicly but the backlash of him going to GSW has clearly gotten to him. He's an insecure mess, just like LeBron.

 

[Dogdeacon]

Listen to bill Simmons podcast with him. #blogboys

Yeah I’ve listened to latest and Durant seems more exasperated than bitter, frustrated I guess with critics but at least claims he’s happy fwiw. I don’t doubt him. He’s kind of boring and the podcasts are dull considering how big a star he is. The business manager is a more interesting interview.

 

[Walker11]

Swaggy haha

 

[polycom]

Yeah I’ve listened to latest and Durant seems more exasperated than bitter, frustrated I guess with critics but at least claims he’s happy fwiw. I don’t doubt him. He’s kind of boring and the podcasts are dull considering how big a star he is. The business manager is a more interesting interview.

Yeah I think he doesn’t care about the podcast just likes talking to Bill. #blogboys

 

[intlzncster]

Sorry man Kobe, Jordan, KG, Bird, hyper-competitive guys who rarely if ever got ejected, let alone for yelling at refs (maybe for fighting). The vast majority of NBA players can make it without racking up Ts like this. This isn't some "natural progression". He is alone with Rasheed Wallace for players to have ever been ejected 5+ times in a season. And so what if his iciness with the media isn't new? Again the vast majority of players have at worst a neutral relationship with the media. Besides Russ, who has his own mental issues with his fashion choices lol, what players let alone superstars treat the media the way he does? Let's compare his behavior to his peers in the top 10: Lebron? Steph? Harden? Brow? Giannis? Embiid? KAT? Kawhi?

Any of those guys have ghost Twitter accounts to engage with trolls?

Not to mention if he's so competitive, why did he join the Warriors in the first place?

Why would he bother putting on a whole fake persona for 9 years?

It's not just one thing. It's the amalgamation of all this odd behavior that makes him a straight up headcase at this point.

But Rasheed's techs were right in line with who he was. Rash was one tough dude. Just a bit volatile.

 

[intlzncster]

The outrage was enormous and universal and KD was shook. On the Bill Simmons podcast, his agent tells how KD flipped out on him immediately after signing with the Warriors, yelling "how could you let me do this to myself." Its tough to be the nice guy when everyone despises you, especially when he was almost universally beloved by NBA fans previously.

Millenial smh

 

[intlzncster]

Again so what? If his play isn’t affected and he’s revealed as fake or a Dick what exactly is the negative of his behavior? You mad he’s not a teddy bear? Michael Jordan was two different guys his entire playing career, nice guy to media and didn’t make his full heel turn until his HOF acceptance speech. It matters how they play basketball.

But the thread is about his personality. Not his basketball skill or game. It's something to talk about.

 

[intlzncster]

Hahaha never saw that. Good for kemba showing a little personality.

But Swaggy is way more entertaining from a non basketball perspective. People poo poo this, but guys like that are great for the league. It's a bit of fun.

 

[UConn990411]

The ejections are new, I'll grant you, but he was growing wicked testy with the media in OKC well before he even left. Their relationship was downright icy, same with Westbrook, and it was pretty well known. Also his technicals were among the league leaders for a couple years smack dab in the middle of his tenure. That said, while he certainly carried the nice guy aura for a while, I would posit that its a bit of a natural evolution for these hyper competitive types to try and find that edge they need in order to be winners, and that this evolution might be a byproduct of it.

Yup - he’s always been one of the bigger a**es in the NBA. It just took him going to Golden State for people to realize.

 

[champs99and04]

100%. He has admitted this. In the BS interviews, he says he doesn't want to be famous and doesn't want to be popular and just wants to play ball. He clearly doesn't have the best social skills. He seems like the type of guy who will be completely loyal to the people who have been with him since day 1 but doesn't trust or seem to care about others liking him.

That's why the decision to play in Golden State doesn't quite add up. Even if he was ambivalent about the OKC community (which I find hard to believe), he still had to walk out on Russ and the rest of that roster.

I blame the media for polluting the whole sports landscape to the point that players feel the need to do this.

 

[Rocktheworld]

I blame the media for polluting the whole sports landscape to the point that players feel the need to do this.

The "need" to what, exactly?

And what do you mean by "polluting"?

 

[champs99and04]

The "need" to what, exactly?

And what do you mean by "polluting"?

I'm referring to the general impoverishment of dialogue (or maybe it's always been this way and it's just easier to access now) in the sports world where the media needs to over-simplify everything in order to generate clicks. The reality is that KD was never going to be considered a top ten all-time player without a ring, and for as arbitrary and subjective as that is, I think that's why he left. We couldn't be happy with an all-time classic Warriors-Thunder conference finals, we had to immediately pedal the easiest storyline and this is what happens. The whole concept of 'ring chasing' is a media creation.

If you want to hold KD responsible for this, that's fine, but I don't think those opinions would be mutually exclusive. It was always going to take an especially insecure, impressionable young star for something like this to happen.

 

[joober jones]

No one on the Warriors is remotely likable outside of Iggy.

Golden State died to me when they cut Hilton.

 

[MadDogRevival]

He's an insecure mess, just like LeBron.

Guy seems at ease with his place in the universe, far as I can see.
Just hoping he goes to Philly next year. My goodness, that team will be just delicious to watch.

 

[Rocktheworld]

I'm referring to the general impoverishment of dialogue (or maybe it's always been this way and it's just easier to access now) in the sports world where the media needs to over-simplify everything in order to generate clicks. The reality is that KD was never going to be considered a top ten all-time player without a ring, and for as arbitrary and subjective as that is, I think that's why he left. We couldn't be happy with an all-time classic Warriors-Thunder conference finals, we had to immediately pedal the easiest storyline and this is what happens. The whole concept of 'ring chasing' is a media creation.

If you want to hold KD responsible for this, that's fine, but I don't think those opinions would be mutually exclusive. It was always going to take an especially insecure, impressionable young star for something like this to happen.

Okay that’s fair enough, a lot of us (and the media is of course paramount in it) looking for the next “great one” and people are built up with expectations. I wonder to what degree LeBron haters were investing in KD dethroning him

There are still other behaviors like the twitter accounts, the claims that he led on a phony persona his whole time in OKC, the sheer fact that he’s committing Ts and getting ejected to this degree out of nowhere... and I get that he has claimed he never wanted to be famous but damn KD I’m pretty sure everyone was happy with you and treating you well regardless of the exact number of championships you win

 

[champs99and04]

Okay that’s fair enough, a lot of us (and the media is of course paramount in it) looking for the next “great one” and people are built up with expectations. I wonder to what degree LeBron haters were investing in KD dethroning him

There are still other behaviors like the twitter accounts, the claims that he led on a phony persona his whole time in OKC, the sheer fact that he’s committing Ts and getting ejected to this degree out of nowhere... and I get that he has claimed he never wanted to be famous but damn KD I’m pretty sure everyone was happy with you and treating you well regardless of the exact number of championships you win

The fake twitter account thing is weird. I still haven't decided if I should like him more or less for that.

IIRC, he's always picked up a lot of T's, no? I never really got the sense KD's temperament was one of a martyr even when he was being portrayed as one, but I think it's definitely fair to say he grows more ornery by the year.

Despite all that, I'd bet his biggest regret is the tweet he sent - "what happened to trying to beat people rather than join them?," or something to that effect - post-LeBron decision in 2010.

Altogether, he simply strikes me as a dude who changes his mind a lot. If I had to guess, I'd say maybe he's on the more mild end of the bipolar spectrum. That would explain the moodiness, the paranoia, and the insecurity. I've never gotten the impression that he has any character issues or deficiencies as a competitor/teammate, I think he'll ultimately just be remembered as another imperfect athlete who you either liked or didn't. Whereas with some players like, I don't know, Damian Lillard, you ask "how could anybody dislike this guy?," Durant is a guy I can understand turning people off, despite the fact that I like him, if that makes sense.

 

[willie99]

I'm thinking he's mad because he wants to play for the Rockets this year, maybe he'll be thinking about joining the C's in a couple of years. Too bad he missed his chance to win 4 rings in college with Brianna

Look forward to his ongoing political commentary too, that's insightful

 

[BleedHuskyBlu]

KD is the second best basketball player in the world put some respect on his name. It's quite funny how the top 2 basketball players (Lebron,KD) are the most hated.

 

[Rocktheworld]

KD is the second best basketball player in the world put some respect on his name. It's quite funny how the top 2 basketball players (Lebron,KD) are the most hated.

Lmao please like I *hate* Kevin Durant.

Why do so many dumb people like you these days conflate criticism and commentary with disrespect and hate?

 

[Rocktheworld]

No one on the Warriors is remotely likable outside of Iggy.

On second thought, he’s the one who uttered that asinine “master” quote regarding Steve Kerr. Screw him too