NBA players have never faced as much scrutiny in the league's eight decades of existence. For a guy who's extremely active on social media like Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant, it's not always a welcome sight.
The Nets star couldn't even get out a congratulations to the newly crowned NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks without facing the wrath of internet sleuths.
“Nothing but respect for the Milwaukee Bucks franchise, the city of Milwaukee and those loud ass fans. Incredible playoff run fellas!”
Nothing but respect for the Milwaukee Bucks franchise, the city of Milwaukee and those loud ass fans. Incredible playoff run fellas!
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) July 21, 2021
Fans were quick to notice that there was one particular name that was conspicuously missing from the Nets superstar's tweet: Giannis Antetokounmpo. Safe to say they didn't keep quiet about it.
KD still ain't mention him
— A Man With No Name (@SnottieDrippen) July 21, 2021
Katie tweeted out congratulations to the books, the city, the organization, but he didn't actually mention Giannis by name
— A Man With No Name (@SnottieDrippen) July 21, 2021
How about some respect for the MVP, eh? He beat everybody including the Nets and he didn't even need "loud-ass fans" to win G7 at your home.
— Nikos Papadojannis (@N_Papadojannis) July 21, 2021
You forgot to give a special shout out to the Greek freak 🤔 pic.twitter.com/Q10BnOvYXF
— Crazy Punterfied (@Stuv16363730) July 21, 2021
No mention of Giannis and his legendary 50 point close our game!
— Connie Carberg (@ConnieScouts) July 21, 2021
Wow.. can't even give Props to a player he challenged claiming @Giannis_An34 wasn't even in the same conversation..! Well @KDTrey5 #giannisantetokounmpo is definitely in that same conversation; and he did it as the absolute leader of the team.. no #StephCurry involved.! #GoBucks
— Krown Deon (@KrownDeon) July 21, 2021
I really don’t get the Giannis hate from other superstars. Here, KD makes it a point to only congratulate the city and franchise. Petty AF.
— scribeme (@scribeme) July 21, 2021
https://twitter.com/SapperG78/status/1417700411792711689?s=20
Is there any lingering animosity between Giannis and KD? We can't really know for sure. But you might recall how there was some beef being brewed by outside voices during the Bucks-Nets series centered around some old KD vs. Giannis rumors, ones that Kevin Durant has vehemently denied.
There's also the blatant shot that the Bucks star took against superstars joining forces to create super teams. The Nets were probably the closest within the blast radius from that truth bomb from Giannis.
"I could go to a super team … but this is the hard way to do it, and we did it. We f—ing did it."
—NBA champ and Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo pic.twitter.com/ni3jG0rOhY
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 21, 2021
Durant's Nets were literally inches away from vanquishing the Bucks during their own playoff clash. Who knows what would have happened had KD worn a smaller shoe size. Had Brooklyn advanced instead of Milwaukee, perhaps the other members of their Big 3 would become healthy enough to play. If you add on the lengthy break between the Conference Finals and the NBA Finals, that's an eternity of rest for a very much hobbled side.
But for now, Kevin Durant is resigned to congratulatory tweets until he gets another shot at redemption next season. The first Nets-Bucks matchup is definitely going to be must-see television.
Follow Us
Subscribe