Kevin Durant goes OFF on "entitled" fans who question players' approach to regular season games
Kevin Durant lambasted fans who question NBA players' approach to regular season games. Durant thinks fans have become too entitled to speak about players' motives while playing a regular-season game. The notion of an average fan is that NBA players don't play with the same intensity in the 82 games before the postseason.
However, Durant thinks otherwise. He went off about this narrative the fans believe to be true during an interview with ESPN, saying:
"Fans have become more entitled than anything. So they're starting to question our motives for the game, or how we approach the game. The ones that do question -- like who are you? Just shut up and watch the game tonight. We go as hard as we want to go. We go as hard as our bodies allow us to go at this point."
Durant highlighted a variety of factors that come into play during the regular season, such as travel, road trips and rigorous practice sessions that take a toll on players' bodies. KD urged fans to stop taking NBA stars for granted as the grind behind the scenes often goes unnoticed.
The players can only go as hard as their bodies allow them to, which is the reality. The pace and physicality are immense in the league today, which makes it difficult for players to keep up with the intensity on a nightly basis.
Kevin Durant believes the NBA is taken for granted
Kevin Durant left no stone unturned while ranting about the narrative some NBA fans have created about the players' mentality. The Brooklyn Nets superstar went on record stating that the league is taken for granted as the dialog around the game is tense. Here's what the former MVP said:
"You rarely get a day off as a fan from the NBA, so learn to appreciate the grind that we go through and stop just looking at the money and expecting us to just perform for you and perform from the standards -- those high expectations that you put on each one of us as individuals.
"And then the dialogue around the game wouldn't be... Tense. Diluted. It's narrative-driven. It's agenda-based. Biased. I just think a lot of stuff -- because we consume everything at all times, we're starting to take a lot of stuff for granted. The NBA is one of them."
Kevin Durant has had constant run-ins with fans. They increased over the last couple of seasons, especially during the 2022 offseason when he demanded a trade from Brooklyn. His latest comments are likely to see fans unleash on him on Twitter. However, KD hasn't backed down in the past either, so one can expect fireworks on his social media over the next few days.
Click here to read Kevin Durant's exclusive with ESPN.