Kevin Durant claps back at Keyshawn Johnson for downplaying his Golden State Warriors impact
July 7, 2016, will forever be a key date in the career of Kevin Durant. On that summer day, Durant agreed to sign with the Golden State Warriors, and would help lead them to back-to-back NBA championships.
Keyshawn Johnson, however, believes that in an alternate universe if it was prime Paul Pierce instead of Durant joining Golden State, he could have had the same amount of success as Durant had.
“If I put Paul Pierce on the Golden State Warriors with Klay Thompson, Draymond [Green] and Steph Curry, you don’t think he could do the same sh*t?” Johnson said during Monday’s “Undisputed” alongside Pierce and Skip Bayless.
Durant, currently in France for the 2024 Summer Olympics as a member of Team USA Men’s Basketball Team, didn’t let that comment from Johnson slide. Upon seeing the clip which went viral, Durant took a shot at Johnson on X, saying that the New York Jets would have been better off if they didn’t select Johnson No. 1 overall back in the 1996 NFL Draft.
“If the jets would’ve took Jonathan Ogden, Marvin Harrison, ray lewis or Eddie George number 1 they would’ve been better off……I hate hypotheticals,” Durant wrote.
Three of the four players Durant mentioned — Ogden, Harrison, Lewis — went onto become Pro Football Hall of Famers. The other, George, racked up seven 1,000-yard rushing seasons. Johnson did appear in three Pro Bowls and won a Super Bowl, however, it came with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002.
Kevin Durant goes off in Team USA’s opening game victory over Serbia
Johnson’s comments came one day after Durant shined in Team USA’s 110-84 opening game victory against Serbia. Durant, cleared to return from a calf injury less than one hour before tipoff, wasted no time making his presence felt. He led the way off the bench, scoring a team-high 23 points on 8-of-9 from the field and a perfect 5-for-5 from behind the arc.
With Durant on the floor, Team USA was plus-17 in the first half and plus-20 for the game.
“When he comes back from a long absence, you don’t notice it,” head coach Steve Kerr said, via ESPN. “I mean, he is so skilled, and he just looked like he was in midseason form after not playing in a real basketball game for a couple of months. Pretty incredible.”