Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant is not a fan of Stephen A. Smith, and the future Hall of Famer laid into the outspoken ESPN commentator in a recent article.
After Smith recently questioned Durant’s leadership ability on ‘First Take,’ KD, who posted on X at the time of Smith’s criticism that his “intangibles have always been on par with [his] talent,” told The Athletic’s Doug Haller that Smith is a “clown.”
“Yeah, Stephen A., I don’t understand how people even listen to Stephen A.,” Durant said. “I’ve been in the league for 18 years. I’ve never seen Stephen A. at a practice or a film session or a shoot-around. I’ve never seen him anywhere but on TV talking s–t about players and holding them to standards that he don’t even hold himself to or other people to. He’s a clown to me. He’s always been a clown. You can write that, too.”
Specifically, Smith said he did not have “much” belief in the Suns as a championship contender largely because of Durant’s, in Smith’s opinion, inability to lead others.
“I don’t question the greatness nor commitment of Kevin Durant … But when you talk about Kevin Durant — this is not what we’re going to do; we’re not going to look at Kevin Durant and just measure him in terms of just his talent. It’s what ability you have to peel out of others,” Smith said. “[…] He’s been relatively leaderless. He’s been very lacking in inspiration in terms of peeling out from those around him whatever you can give him. He’ll show up… but does he get the others around him to do it?
“Not only does he not do it, he doesn’t feel the level of responsibility I think he should feel in getting it out of them. It’s like, ‘I did my job, I can’t help it if somebody else isn’t doing their job.’ Well, to some degree you can. When you’re that great and you warrant that much respect and that much deference and reverence, you should be able to be a better leader than he has shown. And because that hasn’t been the case, whether it was in Oklahoma City, whether it was later on in Brooklyn, why am I going to believe that’s something you can do in Phoenix?”
Kevin Durant trying to silence critics with Suns
© Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
The Suns are the fourth team Durant has played for in his 18 seasons in the NBA. He began his career with the Seattle SuperSonics, who relocated to Oklahoma City and rebranded to the Thunder after Durant’s rookie season. He played with the Sonics and/or Thunder for nine seasons before leaving in 2016 to sign with the Golden State Warriors.
With the Warriors, Durant won back-to-back NBA titles and Finals MVPs in 2017 and 2018. But in last game with the team, Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals vs. the Toronto Raptors, Durant suffered a torn Achilles tendon. In the following offseason, he signed with the Brooklyn Nets, joining up with friends Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan.
Durant missed all of the 2019-20 season, but in his first year back following the injury, he returned to form and, along with Irving and new addition James Harden, nearly led the Nets to the Eastern Conference Finals. However, Brooklyn fell short in Game 7 vs. the eventual champion Milwaukee Bucks, and in 2022, Harden was traded before the Nets were swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round.
After the early exit from the playoffs, Durant, who signed a contract extension less than a year earlier, requested a trade from Brooklyn in June. Although he ultimately rescinded the request later in the summer, Durant was eventually traded to the Suns before the 2023 NBA trade deadline after Irving, whose own extension negotiations fell apart, requested a trade. Irving was dealt to the Dallas Mavericks on Feb. 6, three days before Durant’s trade to Phoenix.
Durant and the Suns defeated the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the 2023 playoffs before being eliminated by the eventual champion Denver Nuggets. Last year, despite the addition of Bradley Beal in the offseason, Phoenix was swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round.
So far this season, the Suns are 5-1, which is tied for the second-best record in the Western Conference.
