Kevin Durant Fires Back at ESPN’s ‘Frustration’ Report in Since-Deleted Social Media Comment

Durant took issue with criticism that he’s checking out on the Suns’ season.

Kevin Durant is not only one of the most reliable scorers in the NBA, but the Phoenix Suns star can usually be counted on to respond to something he disagrees with in the media. 

On Christmas Day, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that people in the Suns organization have noticed Durant’s frustration with how the team has played with Bradley Beal and Devin Booker sidelined by injuries. Those rumblings gained more heat when Durant scored only 16 points on 4-of-11 shooting with six turnovers in Phoenix’s 128–114 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. 

However, Durant showed that he was aware of Wojnarowski’s report and any fan criticisms that resulted from it with a comment on Instagram. The post that Durant responded to showed a clip of a poor defensive effort against Dallas with a tweet asking “Has Kevin Durant checked out.” More specifically, Durant replied to a comment that said, “He’s starting to be in that cancer/cry baby conversation.” 

The comment has since been deleted but was screencapped by fans and media members. 

Kevin Durant has responded to the Woj report via IG.

Does this calm any concerns you had about KD? pic.twitter.com/rcqRyl1EK5

— PHNX Suns (@PHNX_Suns) December 27, 2023

“Woj says somebody else ‘feels’ that I’m frustrated and it turned into me being mentally checked out. This s— crazy, these people can flat out lie on my name and make s— up and you people will believe it but when my teammates n coaches speak on how I am as a teammate, u ignore it lol.” 

To be fair, Durant admitted after the loss to the Mavericks that he needs to be better and is turning the ball over too much. He also said that looking at his point total wasn’t accurate because setting up teammates for scoring is also part of his game. 

Durant responded (and eventually deleted) to Wojnarowski’s report with a comment on Instagram :: Chris Nicoll/USA Today Network

Considering Durant’s history, leaving the Golden State Warriors and forcing a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, fans and media are quick to believe that he might become discontent with any situation that’s unfavorable from a personal or team standpoint. 

Durant’s putting up excellent numbers for Phoenix, averaging 30.3 points per game, his highest total in nine seasons. But the Suns are 14–15 and it’s probably natural to be disappointed with the team not being able to feature the lineup with Durant, Booker and Beal that was promised going into the season.