Kevin Durant Slams Nikola Jokić ‘Worship’ by Nuggets Fans: ‘Nobody Gives a F–k’

Mike Chiari@@mikechiariFeatured Columnist IVAugust 9, 2024

Aytac Unal/Anadolu via Getty Images

Phoenix Suns and Team USA basketball star Kevin Durant said his piece on social media Friday morning regarding the narrative surrounding Denver Nuggets and Serbian center Nikola Jokić following the United States’ thrilling 95-91 come-from-behind victory at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris on Thursday.

In response to an X user accusing American fans of “double standards” and not giving Jokić his due as the best player in the world, Durant wrote that while most players respect Jokić and are “in awe” of him, they don’t “worship” him like fans do:

Kevin Durant @KDTrey5To all you nuggets fans, nobody gives a fuck who yall lames believe is the best player in the league, players got major respect for Jok, we don’t worship him like yall do but most are in awe of his brilliance. Trolling you cornballs for rooting against us is apart of the game.… https://t.co/JVwxSi0eJD

Durant later ripped “the fan culture that’s been created recently” that features “idol worship, a lot of hate and division based off wins and losses” as well as what he sees as “disrespect of the work being put in” by “incredible athletes.”

Kevin Durant @KDTrey5Lets talk about the fan culture that’s been created recently. A lot of huge egos who believe they are the reason for the advancement of a sport. ALOT of idol worship, a lot of hate and division based off wins and losses, a lot of disrespect of the work being put in by these… https://t.co/UFRak9kSEG

Kevin Durant @KDTrey5That’s what yall do, yall clowns. Use players to push these corny agendas yall got. This a brotherhood fam, u not apart of. It’s a problem now cuz social media got u clowns walkin around wit your chest out like u mean something. YOU DONT!!! YOUR TAKES DONT MATTER https://t.co/DVWyR9ZDMD

Earlier in the day, Durant trolled a fan who wrote that the country of Serbia “should be proud” of pushing the stacked Team USA to the limit in Thursday’s semifinal.

Kevin Durant @KDTrey5Where u from??

The Americans were given their toughest test of these Olympics by far from Serbia, but they rallied and came through when it mattered most, setting up a clash with host France in the gold medal game.

Team USA trailed by as many as 17 against Serbia, and the Serbians held a 13-point advantage entering the fourth quarter.

The Serbians could barely miss from long range during the first half, and they got another spectacular performance out of the three-time NBA MVP in Jokić, who finished with 17 points, 11 assists and five rebounds.

Jokić was far from the only reason why Serbia was so competitive, though. Atlanta Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanović led the team with 20 points, and Aleksa Avramović pitched in 15 points while going 4-of-6 from downtown.

The best performance in Thursday’s game undoubtedly belonged to KD’s former Golden State Warriors teammate Stephen Curry, who went 9-for-14 from long range and led all scorers with 36 points.

Steph kept Team USA in it early when nobody was hitting shots, and he hit some clutch buckets in the fourth quarter, including a go-ahead three-pointer with 2:24 remaining.

LeBron James, Joel Embiid and Durant all came through in big moments as well with James going for a triple-double, Embiid scoring 19 points and KD contributing nine points off the bench.

As great as Jokić unquestionably is, he struggled with Team USA’s smothering defense late and shot only 7-for-17 from the field and 0-for-6 from three-point range in the game.

Durant may have been more compelled than usual to clap back at those who were gassing up Jokić and Serbia due to the Serbian players’ actions during the game.

They seemed to be talking trash throughout, and some of them even taunted NBA and Team USA legend Carmelo Anthony, who was sitting courtside.

The trash talk seemed to fire up LeBron late in the first half, and the entire team then played inspired basketball during the closing stretch.

Most of the pressure was squarely on Team USA’s shoulders since the Americans are going for their fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal in men’s basketball, but they rose to the challenge.

While Serbia will have to play for bronze against Germany, the United States is now just one win away from gold. It will face France with the gold medal hanging in the balance on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET.