Getty Brooklyn's Kevin Durant high-fives Kyrie Irving during the first half against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Barclays Center on May 16, 2021 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.
Nets star Kevin Durant made an early statement Saturday in Game 1 of their first-round series against the Boston Celtics, scoring four points in the first six minutes to make some postseason history. With those points, he moved past Tony Parker (4,045 postseason points) and into ninth place on the NBA’s all-time playoff scoring list. Next up on the list: Jerry West (4,457).
Durant also made an early statement with his choice of footwear.
Actually, it was more of a salute than a statement. Consider his sneaker choice Saturday another tip of the cap to one of his favorite Nets teammates.
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Durant With a Nod of Appreciation to Kyrie
Durant rocked a pair of his KD14’s during Brooklyn’s 104-93 win over the Celtics at Barclays Center. But it was his sneakers’ color scheme that served as a sign of respect for teammate Kyrie Irving.
As ESPN’s Nick DePaula noted on Twitter, “Durant’s new KD 14 (Saturday) is inspired by the ‘Dream’ colorway of the Kyrie 1, Kyrie Irving’s debut signature shoe from 2014.”
Kevin Durant’s new KD 14 today is inspired by the “Dream” colorway of the Kyrie 1, Kyrie Irving’s debut signature shoe from 2014.
KD and Kyrie sneaker in the works
Of course, that leads back to a question at the forefront of both Nets fans and sneakerheads’ minds: Will Durant and Irving ever team up for a combo sneaker that incorporates the vision of both future Hall of Famers?
Durant recently told DePaula that there have been plenty of talks about that — though nothing appears imminent.
“Definitely talked about that,” Durant said. “Our ideas are always changing. We’ll see what we come up with. I definitely want to try to combine one of our shoes, not just the colorway but actually make a hybrid shoe.”
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Nets Take Care of Business in Game 1
Game 1 of the Nets-Celtics series was by no means a vintage offensive performance by the former. Brooklyn, after all, averaged 118.4 points per game during the regular season, second only to the Milwaukee Bucks’ 120 points per game.
“We found a way to win,” Nets coach Steve Nash said afterward, via SNY. “We didn’t play well offensively. Some of it was shot-making. Some of it was cohesion. Some of it was the first time out in the playoffs with fans.”
For his part, Durant was solid with 32 points per game, though his 10-for-25 mark from the field wasn’t exactly his most efficient outing. He also added 12 rebounds.
“It’s exciting to see him out there,” Nash said, via SNY. “The whole ride this year from seeing him come back from such a devastating injury and have such a long layoff with a big hill to climb and a lot of doubt. A tribute to his work ethic, sacrifice and talent to be able to play at that level after that injury and that layoff.
“He didn’t have a classic for him (Saturday), but you look up and he still had 32-and-12. [He] got to the line and did all the things you need to do to win. Proud of him, happy for him and I know our fans were excited to see him out there in the playoffs again.”
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