With the 2023 FIBA World Cup having taken place this summer, there's been a lot of talk regarding the state of basketball in the NBA and the rest of the world. Those talks only intensified after Team USA failed to win a medal losing to Germany in the semifinals and then losing to Canada in the bronze medal game. US sprinter Noah Lyles caused a huge stir when he suggested that the NBA champions should not be considered world champions. The latest controversy came when former UNC Greensboro star Kyle Hines made a comment that the NBA is more like checkers while EuroLeague is more like chess. The comments drew the ire of Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant who took to social media to give his thoughts on the NBA vs. EuroLeague debate.

For those that don't know who Kyle Hines is, he played college basketball at UNC Greensboro where he was a star averaging 18.2 points per game, 8.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.5 steals over the course of four years. He played NBA Summer League three different times with the Charlotte Bobcats, Orlando Magic and New Orleans Pelicans but never made an NBA roster.

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Hines has been playing in EuroLeague for the majority of his professional career and is currently under contract with Olympia Milano in Italy.

It's certainly a stretch to say that EuroLeague is better or easier than the NBA and Suns star Kevin Durant certainly has a point. Many of the top pros from other countries come to play in the NBA. Just look at FIBA World Cup gold medal winning Germany whose top players were Dennis Schroder, Franz Wagner and Mo Wagner, all current NBA players.