Dion Waiters And Kevin Durant Would Play 1-On-1 And Talk Tons Of Trash In OKC


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Dion Waiters had the best season of his five-year NBA career in 2016-17, his first season as a member of the Miami Heat. Waiters Island re-opened for business in January after a groin injury kept him off the court for 20 games and Dion impressed, averaging 15.8 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game on a 42.3/39.4/64.6 shooting split.

Waiters didn’t plan on being in Miami this season. He (and his son) wanted to be back in Oklahoma City with the Thunder, where he had carved out a quality spot as a role player alongside Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

In a story he wrote for The Players’ Tribune, Waiters discussed how comfortable he was in OKC and how he quickly latched on to Durant, who would battle him in 1-on-1 games at practice, with both unloading trash talk on the other.

When I got to OKC, me and K.D. were together every day. Kev used to think it was funny, because when we got in the gym and played 1-on-1, I was trying to kill him. Straight up.

Go ahead and ask him who won our last game. Ask him. He’ll tell you. He won a lot, too. But I got him plenty.

Kev used to talk wild trash to me, too. People don’t know that about him. Of course, you know me. I’m coming at him fully-loaded. But he’d go right back at me. He’d try to post me up, and I’d be on some Philly Baby Rucker shit. I was pulling out every trick. I’d be squeezing his hips, right in the weak spot. I loved it. I loved that team.

If anyone was concerned that their separation from one coast to the other, with Durant in Oakland and Waiters in Miami, would stop them from friendly trash talk on the court, Waiters assured us that he kept chirping at Durant in the Heat’s two games against the Warriors this season. My favorite anecdote from Waiters’ story, which is well worth your time for learning about Waiters’ backstory growing up in Philly, is what he wrote about his game-winner against the Warriors in Miami.

Waiters had told Durant the Heat were about to go on a huge run after a loss to the Warriors and Durant laughed it off, but when the Warriors came to Miami two weeks later, Waiters got the last laugh with a game-winning three. His recollection of that game, most importantly his thoughts leading into that shot, is amazing.

We gave ’em everything they could handle. We weren’t scared. I saw right away how Kev was playing me, like he was daring me to shoot the ball. I told him, “Bro, I’m feeling good. You see the last four games? Y’all in for a long night.”

We’re talking trash like we’re playing 1-on-1 back in OKC.

Fourth quarter, 10 seconds left. Tie game. I got the ball in my hands with the game on the line, and I already knew what was gonna happen. F*** an overtime, let’s get up outta here.

F*ck. An. Overtime. That’s the new life motto. Long live Dion Waiters.

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