Image Source: New York Post
During regular season games, Kevin Durant takes digs at fans who are trying to undermine NBA players’ motivation
In a recently released interview, Kevin Durant slammed “entitled” fans in an effort to maintain the Brooklyn Nets close to the top of the Eastern Conference. With a 12-1 record in December, Brooklyn flipped their season around. They are now only 1.5 games behind the Celtics to reach first place, and Durant is shooting at a career-high field goal percentage of 56.8%.
However, the Nets player claimed in a conversation with ESPN that he believes NBA fans take the league “for granted” because they fail to recognise the effort and travel required to prepare for each game they enjoy.
In response to the idea that spectators would doubt effort in a typical regular-season game, Durant stated, “Fans have become more entitled than anything. So they’re starting to question our motives for the game, or how we approach the game. The ones that do question — like who are you? Just shut up and watch the game tonight. We go as hard as we want to go. We go as hard as our bodies allow us to go at this point.”
Vaughn’s meticulous approach seems to have been different from the Steve Nash era as the squad has gone 23-8 since he took charge after only seven games. While Durant and teammate Kyrie Irving have openly lauded Vaughn’s ability to increase commitment on the boards and his tight leash when calling timeouts, it is said that Durant asked for Nash to be fired in the offseason.
The Nets’ defence and rebounding have significantly improved under Vaughn, and their ninth-best defensive rating puts them in the discussions as serious contenders.
Chicago ended the Nets’ 12-game winning streak on Wednesday, but it was not Durant’s fault because he scored 44 points in the defeat.