Suns' Kevin Durant Gets Honest on Trash Talk With Gary Payton

Durant says it's all love between the two NBA legends.

Jan 31, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) reacts after having his jersey pulled during action against the Golden State Warriors in the first quarter at the Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images / Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

The Phoenix Suns notched an important win over the Golden State Warriors on Friday night, though the main source of talk came from an interaction that transpired away from action.

It's rare when two of the league's greats are able to trash talk each other - especially one being retired and enjoying the game as a fan - though that's exactly what transpired when Kevin Durant and Gary Payton were spotted exchanging some words:

KD and Gary Payton trashing talking each other at the game 😭

Gotta love it. (via @957thegame)pic.twitter.com/dxDTohfJ8V

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) February 1, 2025

After the game, Durant went into detail on the interaction:

“Yeah, it's always good when I run into an older player, especially who played in the 90’s because (I) feel like that's the golden years of the NBA. So I try to let them know, especially GP. I try to let them know what it would have been like if you'd have been on the court with me because they tend to talk down on the mentality of our era players," said Durant.

"So every time. GP a great sport about it, one of my favorite players, somebody I look up to, got major respect for. I think this started in the summer at Team USA. We were all in the same room, Team USA, and the first thing I said to him was that he couldn't guard me, he’s too small. Them dudes that he played back in the day wasn't close to me. I was just talking crazy to him, so I guess we just picked it up from there.

"I love that I can have that rapport with the older generation of players and let them know that I'm like little bro to them. You know, I always looked up to them my whole life, so yeah I'm going to talk a little shit to them. So that was fun. I got major respect for GP.”

That matchup certainly would've been fun to see, as Durant hails as one of the game's greatest scorers while Payton is regarded as one of the league's top defenders.

We'll never truly know how the two worlds would have collided, though it's fun to see a little friendly trash talk between two greats.