Kevin Durant Is 'Arrogant' and 'Disrespectful,' According to Stephen A. Smith

After Golden State Warriors superstar Kevin Durant dismissed those who have taken issue with the Dubs' domination during the 2017 NBA playoffs, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith responded Monday.        

On an episode of ESPN's First Take (h/t Andrew Joseph of USA Today), Smith was critical of Durant and his comments:

"He's aged. And along the process of aging, he's gotten more arrogant, he's gotten more disrespectful, he's gotten more dismissive—particularly of the fans," Smith said. "To be quite honest with you, he hasn't gotten smarter. And the reason why he hasn't gotten smarter is because the younger Durant never would have said something so flagrantly disrespectful towards fans."

Following the Warriors' 120-108 win over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals on Saturday, Durant said, "If you don't like it, don't watch it," in reference to those who feel this year's playoffs haven't been competitive, per ESPN.com's Chris Haynes.

Prior to Monday's Game 4, Durant attempted to clarify his comments: "I mean, life can be simple, man. If you don't like the way the game is going, just turn it off. If you're enjoying it, just keep it on. Life is simple. I didn't mean it to disrespect anybody, but if you felt disrespected, I'm sorry. But if you don't enjoy the game, turn it off [and] turn something else on. If you do, enjoy the rest of it, man."

The Warriors went on to beat the Kawhi Leonard-less Spurs 129-115, completing the sweep and improving their record to 12-0 in the 2017 postseason.

Durant has put up big numbers during his first playoff run with the Warriors, averaging 25.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.

Golden State awaits the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics with the Cavs leading 2-1.