Kevin Durant clarified the origin of his Instagram burner account, one that ultimately broke the internet in 2017 after he mustered his first championship with the Golden State Warriors.
At the time, he had hit perhaps the biggest shot of his career in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, connecting on a deep wing 3-pointer with LeBron James contesting the shot, ultimately securing a three-game lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Yet despite a postseason full of glory, Durant traded barbs with social media fiends, which later shone light to the nature of his burner account after he responded with his verified account to that same conversation.
Durant told Jay Williams the reasoning for creating the account during a quick chat on his ESPN+ series: The Boardroom.
“I wasn't used to that amount of attention from playing basketball,” said Durant. “I wanted a place where I can talk to my friends without anybody just butting in my conversations or mixing my words or taking everything out of context because I enjoyed that place. I had an Instagram account that I just use for my friends and family. Like it's a cool place for me just to be me instead of worrying about Bleacher Report or Barstool mixing up anything I want to say to CJ or friends from back home, y'know?”
It seems Durant had the account long before he used it to fight his battles with online trolls — but as CJ McCollum said in an earlier part of this episode — it's tough to live a normal life in today's era of social media, with an overlasting grip on athletes that receive criticism even after the season is over.