Most of us did not have David Letterman crashing Kevin Durant’s press conference on our Nets 2021 Media Day bingo card.
Alas, that’s exactly what unfolded Monday morning at Barclays Center, much to the bafflement of social media and the unamusement of Durant. Amid a day packed with headlines, the Letterman-Durant storyline was certainly the oddest.
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Letterman Trolls K.D.
It began on a strange note, Letterman’s offbeat sense of humor grabbing the spotlight, and only continued to get stranger.
The former late night talk show host did his best reporter impression during Durant’s stint at the podium on Monday. Letterman, who referred to himself as “Dave from Basketball Digest,” began by asking Durant why he’s called “K.D.”
Durant, an 11-time All-Star and two-time NBA Finals MVP, patiently explained that his first name begins with a “K” and his last with a “D.”
After receiving permission to call him K.D., Letterman asked what percentage he plans on giving on the court this upcoming season.
“90? 95? 100? 110? What are we looking at?” Letterman asked Durant, via SNY.
“Uh,” Durant said, “110.”
That’s when Letterman began to ask a question that appeared to cross the line in Durant’s mind.
“I just got off the phone with the Dolan family,” Letterman began, “and they said they’re talking to the commissioner now. They’re looking to work a contractual deal that will allow you, when you’re not playing for the Nets, days off, you’ll be able to play for the Knicks. Comments?”
Durant, unamused but ubothered to this point, finally seemed to feel as if the joke had run its course.
“All right, Dave,” Durant said. “That was the last one.”
In fact, it was not the last one.
Before Letterman left, he snuck in one last question and finally drew a laugh from Durant.
“When you guys play the Pelicans,” Letterman asked Durant, “does it kind of make you giggle?”
As Letterman walked out, Durant had the closing remark.
“Y’all just let anyone in here,” he said, via Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News.
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Durant Weighs in on Kyrie Irving
On a more serious note, Durant – and the rest of his Nets teammates – were peppered with questions Monday about Kyrie Irving, a fellow member of the Big Three who was not in attendance for Media Day and instead conducted his press conference via zoom.
Irving’s vaccination status was a hot topic all day, and though Irving danced around the question himself, Durant approached it head on.
“I don’t expect it to be [a problem],” Durant said, via ClutchPointsApp. “That’s his personal decision, what he does is not on us to speculate. I expect us to have our whole team at some point.”
Last season, the 29-year-old Irving averaged 26.9 points on better than 50 percent shooting from the field, 40 percent shooting from 3-point range and 90 percent shooting from the free throw line, becoming just the ninth player in NBA history to shoot with such efficiency in a season.
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