Getty Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry guards Kevin Durant in a December 2020 game.
Kevin Durant has played alongside Steph Curry and seen firsthand how the Golden State Warriors guard has fans stretched across the country who show up to cheer him on. So it was no surprise to Durant when Brooklyn Nets fans at the Barclays Center serenaded Curry with MVP chants after he dropped 37 points and hit nine 3-pointers in a Warriors win on November 16.
Durant spoke out this week about fans in his home arena giving love to Curry, saying he didn’t see it as a knock on Nets fans and pointing out that the two-time MVP hears similar chants wherever he plays. The remarks come as Durant and Curry have emerged as early frontrunners to take home MVP honors this year.
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Durant Defends Chants
Speaking about Curry on “the etcs w/ KD,” Durant said there is no reason for anyone to drag the Nets after their fans praised Curry.
“Yo, it’s ridiculous. They clownin’ us in the Barclays for the amount of Steph Curry fans that are in there,” Durant said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “I’m like, ‘Yo, do you not see him in every arena?’
“What do you mean like it’s just the Barclays arena where he gets MVP chants and cheers after he hits five threes in a row. It’s just always going to be like that, that’s who he is. That’s what he attracts.”
Durant’s point has been proven time and again this season. Curry has heard MVP chants on the road several times this season, including against the hostile fans in Cleveland who still harbor ill will from three NBA Finals defeats.
“I mean I appreciate it, but I don’t think about it too much,” Curry said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “It is very reminiscent of like 2014-2018 when we had a lot of support and a big following showing up to road games and all of that. So we wanna feed off of that and give them something to cheer about throughout the game, or else they’re coming out and it’s just a bunch of Warrior mannequins just sitting down just watching, so you want to give them something to actually get excited about.”
Curry, Durant Locked in MVP Race
Durant could end up competing with Curry for the league MVP honors this season. The two have alternated between leading the Kia Race to the MVP Ladder, the league’s tracking of the top candidates. Curry topped the list published on December 24, thanks in part to a stretch of high-scoring games.
Congratulations to Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) of the @warriors for becoming the first player in NBA history to reach 3,000 career 3-pointers!
“[Curry] has dropped 30 points or more in three straight appearances and racked up 46 points on Thursday to move past Trae Young for second in the NBA in scoring behind Durant,” the report noted. “By the way, the Warriors now own a record of 11-1 this season when Curry scores 30 points or more.”
The former Warriors teammates could also be on course for what would be a blockbuster meeting in the NBA Finals. Both the Nets and Warriors lead their respective conferences, with the Warriors reaching a league-leading 27 wins.
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