An amusing interaction between Kevin Durant and the head coach for South Sudan was caught on video and soon went viral. With the 2024 Paris Olympics currently underway, Durant and Team USA are heavily favored to emerge victorious and win the gold medal.
Although KD was unable to play in the exhibition games heading into the Olympics due to an injury, he appears to have fully healed and made his return for Team USA in their group-stage opener against Nikola Jokic and Serbia. After leading Team USA to victory, Kevin Durant and his squad recently faced off against South Sudan.
During the game, there appeared to be an exchange between Durant and Royal Ivey, the coach for South Sudan. Now that the context has been provided, let us take a closer look and find out more.
Kevin Durant and Royal Ivey played together on the OKC Thunder
The average duration of a player’s career in the NBA is not very long. As a result, many of them engage in other activities after retiring. One such player was Royal Ivey. To those who do not know, Ivey spent 9 seasons in the NBA. More importantly, he spent the back end of his career with the OKC Thunder. At the time, Durant was on the Thunder and likely had a relationship with Ivey.
One must wonder if that played a role during the recent game between Team USA and South Sudan. Footage of the Suns star taunting Ivey and claiming that the players from South Sudan were not tough was captured and went viral.
“Y’all n**gas ain’t tough.”
Kevin Durant to South Sudan head coach and good friend Royal Ivey while at the free throw line 😳
(via phoenixsunhoop/IG)pic.twitter.com/o7ay1zDgz1
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 1, 2024
Upon watching the video, the majority of fans disagreed with Durant. However, there is not much any of them can do about it. Even Durant’s strongest critics have been temporarily silenced by his performance at the international level.
KD was the difference-maker for Team USA vs South Sudan
Most fans who have been deprived of watching basketball games this offseason will know that this is the second time Team USA and South Sudan have faced off in recent times. Their previous matchup was competitive and required heroics from LeBron James for Team USA to win.
In comparison to their last game, this matchup was a blowout and ended with Team USA winning 103-86. Given that they had complete control of the group stage match with Kevin Durant on the court, he certainly earned the right to trash-talk his old friend and opposing coach.