Kevin Durant throws shade at ESPN over his low player ranking
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
Kevin Durant continues to be mad on Twitter dot com.
ESPN recently came out with their annual list of the top 100 players in the NBA. The Brooklyn Nets star Durant fell out of the top five and was placed at No. 8 by ESPN’s expert voting panel. He was behind Jayson Tatum (No. 7), LeBron James (No. 6), Steph Curry (No. 5), Joel Embiid (No. 4), Luka Doncic (No. 3), Nikola Jokic (No. 2), and Giannis Antetokounmpo (No. 1).
NBArank continues with No. 6-10 👀
LeBron and KD both fall out of our experts' top 5 😳 https://t.co/24xSppWhY7 pic.twitter.com/cQgqEDMbkl
— ESPN (@espn) September 22, 2022
Introducing the NBArank top 5️⃣
More from our experts: https://t.co/bdHb6B6BFe pic.twitter.com/qrp0krZrKx
— ESPN (@espn) September 23, 2022
The former MVP Durant issued an apparent response to the perceived slight in a tweet on Friday. He posted a screenshot of a lyric by rapper Benny the Butcher (from the song “Uncle Bun”) that read, “Look, these lames still caught up ’cause my name’s still brought up / In top five convo from Langfield to Gainesville, Florida.”
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) September 24, 2022
Durant, who averaged 29.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per contest last season but lost in the first round, usually ranks much higher. ESPN had Durant at No. 1 in 2021, No. 6 in 2020 (when he was coming off his Achilles tear), and tied for No. 4 the last time that he was ranked before his injury.
The competition may be a bit steeper for a top-five spot this time around. But Durant clearly believes that he is deserving of one and now has yet another item to add to the list of his many grievances against ESPN.
