Kevin Durant called out by Skip Bayless for indifference at Michael Jordan and LeBron James comparisons: "Speaking like he has retirement thoughts"
Throughout his Hall of Fame career, Kevin Durant has made it clear that basketball is all he worries about. Very rarely has he got caught up in the outside noise of being an NBA superstar. For him, it's simply about playing the game he's loved his entire life.
While Durant might want to keep things strictly about basketball, it's hard for a player of his caliber. Given that he's a generational talent, he has always been a big topic of conversation.
Recently, KD made a comment about not wanting to be in the conversation with all-time greats like Michael Jordan and LeBron James. This caused FS1's Skip Bayless to hop on "Undisputed" and call out the former MVP. He feels these are retirement-like comments and that Durant is always trying to avoid the limelight.
"So, he's saying, like, I'm having retirement thoughts," Bayless said. "Just leave me alone and let me hoop.
"He's so great, you have to embrace that. ... He likes to play out of the spotlight in the shadows."
Kevin Durant says he does not care about being greater than LeBron or Michael Jordan:
"KD is speaking like he has retirement thoughts but likes to play basketball and hoop. You have to embrace that you’re so great. He likes to play out of the spotlight." — @RealSkipBayless https://t.co/3lZNKynoJy
Does Kevin Durant avoid putting himself in big situations?
Skip Bayless might feel Kevin Durant likes to play out of the spotlight, but that simply isn't the case. One of the biggest moments in his career involved putting a target on his back for the rest of the league.
In 2016, Durant made the decision to join the Golden State Warriors in free agency. Alongside Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, they formed one of the best lineups in league history.
Given that the Warriors were already a finals-ready team, the addition of Durant turned him into a villian across the NBA. If he truly wanted out of the spotlight, he would have never made a move that turned him into the most-talked about player at one point.
If KD has any thoughts about retiring, he has a funny way of showing it. So far this season, he has proven he is still one of the league's top players. Along with being among the NBA leaders in scoring at 30.1 points per game, he is averaging 6.6 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.6 blocks.
Just because Durant doesn't want to be in the conversation with Michael Jordan and LeBron James does not mean he's no longer interested in playing. He just doesn't want to be forced to talk about it every night like LeBron has to. KD is still a very passionate player and prefers to keep his business on the basketball court.