Getty Kevin Durant celebrates a memorable day with foster kids from the Los Angeles Youth Network
When Kevin Durant was completing his pre-draft workout fresh off of his standout year at the University of Texas he took the weightlifting section of the 2007 NBA Draft combine and was unable to bench press 185 pounds for a single rep. The news became part of the famous debate on whether the Portland Trail Blazers should select Durant or the 7-footer from the Ohio State Buckeyes, Greg Oden. Ultimately, Oden was selected, and it wasn’t because of the bench press statistics he showed at the Draft combine. But after that combine, KD has had the lack of strength label follow him throughout his NBA Career. At the time, in 2007, the way it was reported made it sound like Durant was one of the first players ever to not be able to perform the 185-pound bench press. However, the Slim Reaper joined a long list of players, including TJ Ford, Jamal Crawford, Brandon Rush were also unable to complete that part of the pre-draft showcase.
For Durant, this was a bigger thing. It was a reason to question the star basketball player coming out of Austin, Texas. Durant was a player unlike the league had seen coming out of college. He was a 6-foot-11 basketball player that could play on the wing, shoot, dribble, and more. Looking back, you can see how much the league has changed since the 2007 draft where the Trail Blazers drafted the dominant inside-scoring 7-foot center instead of the versatile 6-foot-11 forward that could score from anywhere on the floor off of the dribble or with his back to the basket. Back then, it was a big man’s league, and now, a skillset like Durant’s is one of the most coveted by league executives.
It has been a while, but Durant’s name coming up as being synonymous when talking about a lack of strength happened again this week in the most unexpected place. Durant and his strength were questioned on the most recent episode of HBO’s Hard Knocks featuring the Detroit Lions.
Kevin Durant Gets Called Out on HBO’s Hard Knocks
In the episode, John Brown, a former two-time Mr. Universe, is seen training his NFL wide receiver sons Amon-Ra and Equanimeous Brown ahead of the NFL season. John took the opportunity to call out Durant and other players for not working out their whole bodies.
“You gotta train your whole body,” Brown said. “Kevin Durant and these guys mess their Achilles up. I have a question for guys like Kevin Durant — when’s the last time you did a calf raise?”
The clip was hilariously shared to Twitter in a tweet that read, “KD just caught the most random stray on Hard Knocks.”
KD just caught the most random stray on Hard Knocks
The tweet quickly went viral and even got the attention of Kevin Durant who had an equally funny response to the clip.
Kevin Durant Responds to Criticism From HBO’s Hard Knocks
Brown calling out Durant was certainly surprising, and when the Brooklyn Nets forward saw it on Twitter, he gave it a simple but literal and funny response to it. Durant’s tweet let Brown know simply that the last time he had done a calf raise was that day, as Durant shared in his one-word response, “today.”