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#pounditThursday, March 28, 2024

8th grader responds after being criticized by Kevin Durant on Twitter

Kevin Durant dribbles down the court

Kevin Durant took some time off from responding to Twitter trolls this week to criticize a young basketball player, and the eighth grader was disappointed with the feedback.

A video went viral over the weekend that showed Jayden Moore, a 13-year-old at Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, Minn., putting a fancy move on a defender before launching a three-pointer. The shot was unsuccessful.

Durant retweeted the video and wrote, “This s— stinks,” (edited for profanity by LBS). Moore told Josh Peter of USA TODAY this week that he was hurt and confused by the comment.

“Like, what made him take time out of his day to say something negative instead of encouraging me or telling what really needs to be done and then texting me privately or something like that,” Moore said.

Moore’s father, Paul, is the one who shared the video on social media. He said he bet his son $10 that he couldn’t pull off the move without getting called for a travel, which he didn’t. Hopkins was leading by 50 when Jayden decided to try it. Hopkins coach Ken Novak criticized Durant for his “immaturity.”

“There’s almost an immaturity with them to take the time to even go on Twitter and look at that (video) and comment,” Novak said. “In fairness to them, I’m sure they’re trying to create what they see as better basketball, people sharing. And maybe they’re making a comment trying to say that. But they just got to realize who they’re saying it to.”

Moore eventually decided to try to turn the criticism into a positive. He reached out to Durant and thanked him for the feedback.

“Thanks for the constructive criticism,” Moore wrote. “I’ve grown from my 6th grade year! Maybe we can work on some stuff together!! All love. Hopefully I can get to where you at one day!”

Durant was called out for criticizing a kid, but he defended the comment and said it is “about habits.” He hasn’t tweeted anything since. He probably didn’t mean to hurt a 13-year-old’s feelings. We wouldn’t be surprised if he responds to Moore.

Photo: Oct 11, 2021; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant (7) in action against the Philadelphia 76ers during the first quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

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