Kevin Durant is calling out an NBA legend who he claims was supportive to his face but critical of his move to Golden State on air.
The injured Warriors star appeared on Bill Simmons’ podcast on Saturday and said James Worthy burned him on air. Simmons asked Durant about the best criticism he received from someone on TV. He started to give an answer before his agent, Rich Kleiman, asked him to tell a story about a two-faced NBA star saying one thing in person and another thing entirely on air.
Durant hesitated to name the former player, but then admitted that he did some “shady sh*t to me” and retold the story of how the two met before his first game with the Warriors and received encouragement for his move from Oklahoma City to Golden State.
“We played in Vancouver, first game in a Warriors uniform. And I see James Worthy walking out as I was leaving the game, it’s a legend here. Big Game James. I didn’t get to see him play but I just know all about him, I’m a little skeptical at this point to even talk to anybody from the generation before because I don’t even know how they feel about me as a person, as a player because these dudes—they look at me as like, ‘Oh you switching teams, you chasing this, you chasing that.’ So I’m just gonna keep it moving.
But he was like, ‘Man. Don’t worry about that stuff. People change jobs every single year, every single day. Don’t worry about that. Just go out there and keep working and go win.’ So I’m like, ‘Man that’s nice.’”
It’s understandable that Durant was excited to see some support from an older NBA player, especially one on television. The basketball world was decidedly split when he announced his decision to leave the Thunder and play for what was at the time its most hated rival. The decision was deeply personal—seeking an NBA title his own way—and getting reassured before one of the most anticipated games of his NBA career had to give him confidence not everyone hated him for wanting to win.
Durant didn’t know until later that Worthy’s opinion of Durant changed drastically once he wasn’t around to hear it.
“So I came back home that night and my boy Randy —I was like, ‘Man. James Worthy was cool. He showed me so much love. I appreciate that.’ He was like, ‘Huh? He was talking so bad about you on TV. He was saying Magic wouldn’t have done that. I wouldn’t have done that.’
Yo, stop selling out. Stop selling your brothers out. This is a fraternity. Stop selling us out, stop doing that man, and then come in my face talking that nonsense. I was really fooled with him.”
This is one of the worst things in this modern media era—people who are paid to have incendiary opinions publicly that don’t actually match their true feelings. Whether Worthy is fine with Durant signing with Golden State or he actually thinks the NBA’s old guard is superior to free agency superstars like Durant, his two-faced approach is either unfortunate or downright dishonest.
Worthy, however, is one of the olds that thinks his “Showtime” Lakers could destroy the 73-win Warriors team from a season ago, so maybe he’s just and faded icon with a full diaper all the time.
(via NBC Sports)
