Getty Images Kevin Durant of the Nets drives to the basket against Grant Williams of the Celtics
Hours before taking on the Indiana Pacers in the Brooklyn Nets’ regular-season finale, superstar Kevin Durant was on Twitter.
For Durant, this kind of behavior isn’t out of the ordinary. Kevin is known to compete on Twittersphere as he does on the basketball floor; he doesn’t shy from challenging followers and naysayers alike on the popular social media platform.
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However, it’s not every day you see him engage with the founder & CEO of a Boston-based sports network. CLNS Media’s Nick Gelso caught the smoke on Sunday morning.
Kevin Durant Vs. CLNS Media
It all started when Gelso sparked a debate regarding which all-time NBA player would you start: Durant or Boston Celtics Hall of Fame forward Larry Bird?
Who are you starting your #NBA team with, Kevin Durant or Larry Bird?
Choose wisely.
#NBA75 #Celtics #NetsWorld #KevinDurant #LarryBird @CLNS_Nick @RealBobManning @Joe_Sway @HonestLarry1 @frostybias @MikeDynon @coug88 @Dee4threeG @NBACobwebs @CelticsCLNS @CLNSMedia
Gelso, who backs up his argument for picking Bird over Durant, triggered angry Nets fans. However, it wasn’t Nick’s original question that angered KD.
Durant: The Internet Made Grown Men Attention Wh**es’
Instead, Nick’s characterization of Durant sparked a response from the 12-time All-Star.
“He’d be so so so sad, but no matter what [Durant] feels inside, he always (ALWAYS) portrays himself as an angry, mean big bad villain,” Gelso tweeted. “Fraud.”
@HonestLarry1 @NBAHistoryCLNS @RealBobManning @Joe_Sway @frostybias @MikeDynon @coug88 @Dee4threeG @NBACobwebs @CelticsCLNS @CLNSMedia @KDTrey5 He’d be so so so sad but no matter what @KDTrey5 feels inside, he always (A L W A Y S) portrays himself as an angry mean big bad villain lol. Fraud.
In response to Gelso, Durant didn’t hold back.
“It’s crazy how the internet made grown men attention wh**es,” Durant replied and then notched a triple-double (20 points, 16 assists, ten rebounds) by the end of the evening in a 134-126 win over the Pacers.
With that win, the Nets have positioned themselves to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Play-In tournament to clinch a best-of-7, first-round playoff matchup against the Boston Celtics; how fitting for CLNS Media’s continuous Celtics coverage.
Durant, former Celtic Kyrie Irving, and the Nets are one win away from heading to Boston for Game 1 this Sunday. So, we could see a Celtics Twitter development between now and this upcoming weekend as fans gear up for a potential matchup.
Last year, Brooklyn ended the Celtics’ season. The Nets won 4-1 in the opening-round series’ best-of-7, as All-Stars Durant, Irving, and James Harden took care of Boston in five games. However, in 2022, both teams’ rosters look considerably different.
Celtics’ Jaylen Brown, who was out during last year’s playoffs due to a season-ending wrist injury, will be available this season. However, Boston will be without its starting center Robert Williams; he will miss the Celtics’ quarterfinal series while nursing a torn meniscus in his right knee.
Durant: ‘Don’t Think They’re Worried About us’
Meanwhile, the Cavs, on the other hand, are hopeful they’ll be the ones heading for Boston this weekend. While many speculate teams such as the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers may have tanked out of the possibility of facing Brooklyn in the first round of the playoffs, Durant recently revealed that he doesn’t subscribe to that particular theory.
“I don’t believe teams are doing that,” Durant said, per Clutchpoints.com. “I think a lot of teams are just trying to make sure their guys are healthy going into the playoffs. I don’t really think they’re worried about us, to be honest.”
The Nets and Cavs face off at Brooklyn Tuesday night.
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