Kevin Durant issues fiery response to fan’s demand for FIBA rules in NBA
Kevin Durant is well-known for his interactions with fans on social media. This facet of Durant’s life has been known for years and the latest chapter to it was added on Monday.
After a fan put up a post on X, formerly Twitter, asking the NBA to adopt more FIBA rules, Durant got into a heated argument with the fan, while also doing the due diligence of explaining his point.
The original tweet read:
“Please NBA adopt more FIBA rules and let us see the best really think the game and play the game like it's meant to be played.”
Kevin Durant had a fiery response to the original post:
“I swear yall just be yappin. What rules u wanna see man?”
After the NBA fan wrote back that they wanted the three seconds back, more movement, fewer isolation plays, and quicker decisions, KD replied:
“If u want to eliminate defensive 3 seconds then the games will be slower.”
While the fan accepted that they liked old-school basketball, they still wanted to see more schemes and quicker decisions while minimizing holding. Durant said:
“The beauty of basketball is not callin all them sets but playing off instincts and lettin the talent dictate the game..gettin out in transition, driving and kicking, playing random basketball. U want a trick play every possession like it’s football. That’s not why our game is beautiful.”
The fan argued that such basketball can thrive with a talented roster but not when players are expected to fulfil certain roles in a system. KD said that the fan was not able to comprehend what he was trying to explain:
“Random basketball!! U not comprehending what I’m saying. U can RANDOMLY set a screen, RANDOMLY back cut, RANDOMLY make a pass to the open man. Focus on what I’m saying.”
The fan responded by claiming that the NBA doesn't function in the manner that Kevin Durant described. As per the fan, while NBA teams do try to play team basketball, it eventually comes down to isolation basketball with the best players taking over games in crunch time.
Kevin Durant had a solid outing against Serbia
Kevin Durant didn’t feature in any of the five Showcase games in the lead-up to the 2024 Paris Olympics. His status against Serbia was up in the air as well, as coach Steve Kerr preferred to keep his rotation under wraps until game day. So, when Durant took the court on Sunday against Serbia, many expected him to be rusty.
Durant exploded for 21 points in the first half, shooting 8-of-8 in just over eight minutes. He finished the game with 23 points and led the team in scoring. Team USA will be looking for a similar performance from Durant when it takes on South Sudan on Wednesday.