Getty Kevin Durant #7 of the Brooklyn Nets.
Social media interactions can be tricky – nothing you say is truly private and can often get back to the subject at hand. In the case of injured Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant, who is prominent on Twitter, that became a reality as he found himself on the receiving end of a few harsh barbs from an NBA legend.
Durant is still nursing a sprained MCL and won’t be re-evaluated for just under another two weeks.
The injury threatens to keep him out through the All-Star break.
It has not kept him off his social platform of choice which is where he came across what he felt was a rather questionable take from Hall of Fame center, Shaquille O’Neal, a four-time NBA champion and member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary team.
Kevin Durant and Shaquille O’Neal Go Back-And-Forth
“Shaquille doesn’t know ball,” Durant asked in reaction to O’Neal saying that, if a player is not considered top-10 in the NBA, then he does not know they are in regards to his former team the Los Angeles Lakers trading for Rui Hachimura ahead of the February 9 trade deadline.
“I’m not watching the Bullets or the Wizards,” the 15-time All-Star and 14-time All-NBA selection said of Hachimura.
Durant’s question found its way back to O’Neal who is also not shy on Twitter.
“i don’t kno ball, but i kno how to brush my hair, or decide to cut it when i was going bald. love always THE BUS DRIVER,” O’Neal replied under another (unrelated) tweet of Durant talking about rapper J. Cole on his podcast, ‘The ETCs with Kevin Durant & Eddie Gonzalez’ from earlier in the day.
But the best part of the exchange was Durant’s rather surprised response to O’Neal’s pointed response.
“Damn,” Durant tweeted, “I got cooked for asking a simple question.”
@SHAQ @boardroom @JColeNC Damn, I got cooked for asking a simple question.
Durant’s grooming habits have long been a popular topic for some but Durant has never cared.
O’Neal “bus driver” jab is a reference to comments from his TNT studio show colleague and fellow Hall-of -Famer, Charles Barkley.
“Kobe Bryant said, ‘I had to win a championship without Shaq.’ LeBron James said, ‘I had to win a championship without [Dwyane] Wade and Chris Bosh,’” said Barkley during an appearance on ESPN’s ‘Get Up’ with Mike Greenberg last year. “That’s the way this thing works….KD’s an all-time hell of a player, but until he is the guy on a championship, we’re not going to ever give him the respect that he probably deserves…we’re going to hold him to the same high standard.”
📺@Chris_Broussard: “Kevin Durant can push back on Charles Barkley if he wants and be like:
‘Dude, YOU didn’t win it as a ‘bus driver,’ and when you went to a super team, YOU didn’t win it. You don’t need to be opening your mouth!'”
Durant clapped back at those remarks.
“Bus riders, bus drivers, like what does that even mean? That’s a bunch of s— you just make up,” Durant said via his Boardroom platform. “Like I ain’t did s— before I went to Golden State. I had shoes, I had MVPs before I met these guys. Y’all just be hating on the god. Then you say I won’t get respect from the legends, like who? Cause every time I run into a legend I get nothing but love. Go do your research fam, I been this.”
A Busy Week on Social Media
Durant has always been one of the more active participants on social media, especially among the game’s superstar ilk. This week has been no different with Durant retweeting an interesting message from Hall of Fame forward Paul Pierce.
He also had his first “spat” of the week with Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid whom Durant said he missed talking trash to on the court.
Durant criticized Embiid’s celebration which drew the ire of the league office leading to a fine.
The week began with Durant showing love to his teammate, emerging big man Nic Claxton, for his breakout campaign. But the biggest boost Durant can do will be to make his eventual return to the basketball court whether that is in time for All-Star weekend or sometime thereafter, that is the only activity that matters to the 30-19 Nets.