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Newly acquired Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant isn't taking back what some perceived as a slight to Michael Jordan.
On LeBron James and Steve Nash's ‘Mind the Game' podcast, Durant said, in regards to the constant commitment of playing professional basketball at an elite level, “Some people say, ‘I wanna go play baseball. And then I wanna come back. Well, some people say, ‘I'mma go 22 straight.'
“Some people say "I want to go play baseball", and some wanna play 22 straight”
KD
Hey KD, some people can’t get it done on their homegrown team & they have to go join the team that beat them to win..
Never talk down on the GOAT again 👍🏼
(@shane00) pic.twitter.com/3cNn1Pee2U
— Jacob (@Jacobtheclipper) July 9, 2025
As expected, the comment drew strong reactions from NBA fans, many of whom were divided along the already drawn James vs. Jordan lines. And while Durant received plenty of criticism, he continued to defend himself on X, formerly Twitter, in a series of replies to fans.
- “U look at it as sneak dissin but I just told the truth,” Durant wrote in a reply.
- “Did I say he wasn’t?” Durant wrote in response to a question about Jordan being obsessed with basketball. “U assume I was thinking that because I said he went to play baseball. Some people need a break and that’s fine, some people don’t. I get why u sensitive about it tho, mj is a god.”
- “Mj retired 3 times. It’s okay to call that out my brother, I got 1 million dollars worth of Mj shoes in my house hahaha. It’s okay, he retired 3 times and still the goat. Ima applaud that just like Ima applaud playing 22 years at an ELITE level. I like basketball tho, you love individuals more,” Durant wrote.
Jordan, who won three straight championships with the Chicago Bulls from 1991 to 1993 and again from 1996 to 1998, retired after each three-peat. In 1993, more than two months after the murder of his father, Jordan announced his retirement. Four months later, he began pursuing a career in baseball in the Chicago White Sox's minor league system. Jordan cited his father as a major reason for his decision to shift his focus to the sport.
Jordan's baseball career proved far less successful than basketball, though, and in March 1995, he decided to return to the NBA and the Bulls. That year, Chicago was knocked out of the playoffs in the second round by the Orlando Magic. The following season, Jordan led the Bulls to the first of three straight titles, after which Jordan again retired despite considering leaving the Bulls for another team.
Following a stint as the top executive and an owner of the Washington Wizards, Jordan returned to playing, and he spent two seasons (the 14th and 15th of his career) with the Wizards before retiring for the third and final time. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.
After being acquired by the Rockets this offseason, Durant, 36, is set to play his 18th season in the NBA.
