Suns' Kevin Durant Speaks on Viral Incident With Mavs Fan

Suns superstar Kevin Durant shared his perspective on the viral incident involving a Mavs fan before the two teams faced off on Thursday night.

DALLAS — Before the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night, a video of Kevin Durant involving him and a superstar went viral. Durant finished with 23 points and six rebounds in a 123-113 victory for the Mavs.

What caught Durant's attention was the fan called him a derogatory word. Durant walked over to the fan to confront him but was adamant with security about not having him ejected from the arena. 

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Durant was asked about the incident in a conversation with Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic, making it clear that he took exception to the situation because he had his back turned when he was called derogatory.

“My thing was like, even though you called me a b**** as I’m running out with my back turned, people usually do that, call me coward, b**** with my back turned, and it wasn’t too many people around,” Durant said. “I know you don’t mean that, and I’m not going to get you kicked out because you paid your money for these tickets, you had a couple of drinks, and I understand how people get, but it’s better ways to try to get my attention and talk to me other than call me a b**** out my name because you’re protected in these arenas..."

Durant said the incident "wasn't that big of a deal" but acknowledged how fans don't view players as humans sometimes. 

“It wasn’t that big of a deal,” Durant said. “It’s like, they don’t look at us as humans sometimes. So when you get a chance to let a person know how you feel real quick, then they’ll backtrack. See, we’re animals, we’re circus acts, we’re entertainers to them instead of real people.”

An incident involving a Suns fan caught Luka Doncic's attention in the previous matchup between these two, resulting in his exit from the arena. It's clear there is a heightened level of animosity between the two teams amid a growing rivalry.