Kevin Durant wants you to believe the NBA All-Star Game fell apart because of the Europeans.
That is the hill KD is choosing.
Asked on Wednesday ahead of All-Star festivities about the level of effort in the game, Durant pointed overseas.
"You should ask the Europeans and the World team if they're going to compete," Durant said.
Kevin Durant of the Houston Rockets handles the ball as he is defended by Luguentz Dort of the Oklahoma City Thunder. (Photo by Joshua Gateley/Getty Images)
"If you look at Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic now, let's go back and look at what they do in the All-Star Game. Is that competition? So, we haven't questioned what they've been doing. But we're going to question the old heads and the Americans.
"But these two dudes out there, Luka and Jokic, they don't care about the game at all. These dudes are lying on the floor. They're shooting from half court. But you've got to worry about the old heads playing hard? I can read between the lines, bro. It's just an overall topic that everybody's been talking about."
Durant is arguing about a lack of a double standard — that veteran NBA stars, particularly American ones, get hammered for low effort while international players skate by.
Let's also not ignore the subtext.
KD is implying Black stars are labeled lazy while European players are framed as fundamentally sound and hardworking.
Source: The Latest & Most Breaking News With OutKick
