All-NBA Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant, one of the most decorated superstars playing on USA Basketball’s roster ahead of this year’s 2024 Paris Olympics, apparently is frustrated with Nike.
“@nike tell me, Am I a bad person?????” Durant wrote on his Instagram stories Friday, per Complex Sports.
It’s not exactly clear what the cause of his ire is, but given the timing of his post relative to Nike’s brand-new commercial for this month’s Olympic games, and the fact that he was entirely omitted from the ad, it could make sense as the source.
The ad features some retired stars, too, in Hall of Fame Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant and 23-time Grand Slam tennis champion Serena Williams. But not Durant.
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
The 6-foot-11 Texas product, 35, is one of the greatest players in the history of the NBA. In addition to the aforementioned 14 All-Star inclusions, he’s a two-time Finals MVP, one-time league MVP, 11-time All-NBA honoree, four-time league scoring champ, and one of the most prolific scorers in history, a totally unique phenomenon with the size of a center but the ball handling skills of a wing or guard.
Even to this day, Durant remains one of the most dangerous offensive talents in the league. Across 75 healthy games for the 49-33 Suns in 2023-24, Durant posted averages of 27.1 points on .523/.413/.856 shooting splits, 6.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.2 blocks and 0.9 assists a game. He made the 2024 All-NBA Second Team and finished ninth in league MVP voting.
But even beyond all that, Kevin Durant is also one of the winningest Olympians on Team USA’s roster. Durant won the 2010 FIBA World Cup title and then went on to become an especially dominant figure in international play, claiming gold medals during the 2012 Olympics in London, the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and the “2020” Olympics in Tokyo (they actually took place in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
Durant is one of only two players in the history of the Olympics to have won three gold medals in men’s basketball, along with now-retired 10-time All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony, who overlapped with Durant during the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. Assuming Team USA claims gold again, he will make history. For him to be left out of Nike’s marketing materials, especially considering that he has a signature sneaker line with the iconic sportswear brand, is pretty surprising.
One factor that may have clouded Nike’s marketing plans was Durant’s health. He’s been dealing with a calf strain all month, and only was able to partake in his first team practice on Friday, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. He has sat out all three of Team USA’s exhibition warm-up games thus far, though Team USA has won each, anyway.
“I’ve seen progress every day,” Durant informed reporters Friday in London. It’s there that Team USA will play its two final exhibition games, against South Sudan and Germany. “It’s one of those things. Just got to monitor it every day. I’ll see how I feel after I do certain exercises. My thing is to keep running and see what happens.”
Read More: Kevin Durant to Sit Out Olympic Warm-Up Game with Injury
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
