“Don’t have him guard me next week”: Kevin Durant’s merciless trash talk to Austin Reaves revealed
A Kevin Durant-led Phoenix Suns met a LeBron James-led LA Lakers in a much-hyped preseason game. While two of the biggest superstars in the league locked horns, Durant's matchup with Austin Reaves made the headlines.
Durant trash-talked Raves and the Lakers assistant coach Jordan Ott. With eight seconds remaining on the shot clock, Durant received the ball while being guarded by Durant just inside the three-point line.
With his back towards the basket, KD made a fadeaway jumper over Reaves and made a “too small” gesture towards the Lakers guard. But he was not done, he also told Ott:
"Don’t have him guard me next week.”
Reaves, who had a nice game for himself with 14 points, 2 steals and 2 blocks, had a perfect reaction to KD’s trash talk.
“Bro, what am I supposed to do?! … It’s a problem,” Reaves said candidly.
It is not difficult to fathom Reaves’ position. Guarding arguably the greatest scorer of this generation is almost an impossible task, especially with his height disadvantage against the 7-foot Durant.
Since last season, Austin Reaves has grown into one of the most reliable players on the Lakers’ roster. He rightfully solidified his position on the Lakers’ roster after impressive playoff performances. It remains to be seen how he fares with LeBron James and Anthony Davis this season.
LeBron James and Kevin Durant face each other after half a decade
NBA fans finally got to see Kevin Durant and LeBron James share a court after half a decade. When the Suns faced the Lakers, LeBron and KD were sharing the court for the first time after December 2018. Back then, James was in his first year with the Lakers and Durant was still with the Golden State Warriors.
Since this was a preseason game, both the stars were playing on restricted minutes. Durant played 17 minutes in the game and scored 21 points. LeBron, on the other hand, played 22 minutes and scored a team-high 19 points for the Lakers.
Kevin Durant and LeBron James represent one of the most competitive eras in the NBA. They faced each other 14 times in the NBA Finals, of which KD has won nine times.
This season, they are two of the favorites to come out of the Western Conference. It will be interesting to see how their respective teams fare in the regular season, which will happen on October 27.