Kevin Durant has never been afraid to talk a little trash — whether it’s with a fan in the comments, or a Hall of Fame point guard just taking in the game.
During last night’s battle between the Suns and Warriors in San Francisco, KD ended up getting into it with NBA legend and Bay Area native Gary Payton. And the exchange definitely caught the attention of social media.
“You up here, I’m at the ceiling,” Durant motioned to Payton.
“I’m on the roof,” The Glove replied.
“By the time you was my age you was the 8th man on the bench,” the Phoenix star smiled.
Kevin Durant to Gary Payton Sr. last night:
“By the time you was my age, you was the 8th man on the bench.”
KD is averaging 27.1 PPG at 36 years old.
He is on pace to be the oldest player in NBA history to finish top five in PPG for a season.pic.twitter.com/BT4ekhokhC
— Underdog NBA (@Underdog__NBA) February 1, 2025
Fans were loving the back-and-forth between the all-time greats.
“Never retire,” a user said.
“That random gotta chill how he talks to KD,” another cried.
“Incredible longevity! KD continues to defy age with consistent dominance and impressive performance..” a fan commented.
“it really is crazy he still frying the league at 36,” another person posted.
“Could we give the person recording their flowers!” another user cried.
“KD is pure hoops.”
“Classic [expletive] talking,” another fan stated.
Durant admitted after the game that it’s “all love” between he and Payton.
“It’s always good when I run into an older player, especially if they played in the ’90s, because they feel like that’s the golden years of the NBA,” Durant explained. “So I try to let them know, especially GP, I try to let them know what it would have been like if they’d have been on the court with me. They tend to talk down on the mentality of our era’s players.”
“G’s a great sport about it — one of my favorite players, somebody I look up to, got major respect for. I think we started in the summer with Team USA. We were all in the same room with Team USA, and the first thing I said to him was that he couldn’t guard me. ‘You’re too small. Them dudes that played back in the day wasn’t close to me.’ I was just talking crazy to him, so I guess we picked it up from there.”
Related: Carmelo Anthony Has Strong Message For Scottie Pippen: ‘Leave LeBron Alone’