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Kevin Durant Not Concerned with 'All That Other S--t' People Talk About Kyrie

Timothy Rapp@@TRappaRTFeatured ColumnistFebruary 12, 2021

Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant (7) high-fives guard Kyrie Irving during an NBA basketball game Monday, Jan. 25, 2021, in New York. The Nets won 98-85. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Adam Hunger/Associated Press

Kevin Durant is not here for the Kyrie Irving slander.  

The Brooklyn Nets superstar said on his podcast, The ETCs with Kevin Durant, that he's never been concerned with how Irving will play on the court despite the criticism he faces off it. 

"Kyrie is going to play a nice efficient game this year... All that other s--t that people talk about, I was never concerned with that," he said (h/t NBA on ESPN). "Kyrie is going to play the right way and he's going to do his best when he's out there."

From his flat earth theories that he has since apologized for and seemingly wearing out his welcome with his former Boston Celtics teammates to sitting out for a protracted period this season, Irving has courted controversy in the past. But Durant and Irving signed in Brooklyn as a package deal, so it's hardly surprising to see Durant defend him. 

Granted, whether the trio of Durant, Irving and James Harden can co-exist for the long term remains a fascinating storyline. But for now, at least, Durant has Irving's back.