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NBA star Kevin Durant unloaded on Denver Nuggets fans who lauded Nikola Jokic and his Serbia after the Paris Olympics semifinal thriller against Team USA.
The Americans came back from 17 points down with a heroic fourth-quarter effort to beat the European nation 95-91 in a battle for a spot in the gold medal game.
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Jokic, 29, showed off his all-around talent against the USA on Thursday, ending up with 17 points while also dishing out 11 assists and collecting five rebounds.
After the clash, the three-time NBA MVP received well-deserved plaudits for making the star-studded Team USA sweat with his Serbian teammates.
A Nuggets podcaster said that “the whole country should be proud” to go neck-in-neck with the Americans while posting a picture of the 6-foot-11 center dunking the ball during the game.
The podcaster noticed that Serbia’s effort came against an overwhelming favorite and “the most talented team in the history of the planet” with an Olympic medal at stake.
The remark seemingly irked Durant, 35, who responded, “Where are you from??”
Other Nuggets fans jumped in to argue there was nothing wrong with rooting for Jokic with one labeling the Serbian center “clearly the best player in the world.”
Durant then unloaded on the Denver faithful.
“To all you Nuggets fans, nobody gives a f**k who yall lames believe is the best player in the league,” the Phoenix Suns forward wrote.
“Players got major respect for Jok, we don’t worship him like yall do but most are in awe of his brilliance.
“Trolling you cornballs for rooting against us is a part of the game. Deal with it.”
Durant received plenty of criticism for his outburst with Nuggets fans insisting that emphasizing Jokic’s greatness wasn’t an act of betrayal toward America.
Others noted that idolizing a player has been part of the NBA culture for decades but seemingly became a problem when international players became the league’s stars.
But Durant continued to rage.
“Let’s talk about the fan culture that’s been created recently,” he posted.
Highest contracts in NBA history
- Jayson Tatum, Celtics – 5 years, $314 million
- Jaylen Brown, Celtics – 5 years, $285.4 million
- Nikola Jokic, Nuggets – 5 years, $276.1 million
- Bradley Beal, Suns – 5 years, $251 million (signed with Washington)
- Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves – 5 years, $244.6 million
Tyrese Haliburton, Pacers – 5 years, $244.6 million
Per Spotrac
“A lot of huge egos who believe they are the reason for the advancement of a sport.
“A LOT of idol worship, a lot of hate and division based off wins and losses.
“A lot of disrespect of the work being put in by these incredible athletes, mostly by people who don’t know what it takes to be good at anything besides talking.”
Durant implied that social media has encouraged NBA fans to “use players to push corny agendas” while enjoying anonymity online.
“This a brotherhood fam, u not apart of,” the two-time NBA champion continued.
“It’s a problem now cuz social media got u clowns walkin around wit your chest out like u mean something.
“YOU DONT!!! YOUR TAKES DON’T MATTER.”
Team USA will battle France for the gold on Saturday.
Durant made history during the Paris Games, leapfrogging WNBA legend Lisa Leslie to become USA Basketball’s all-time leading scorer at the Olympics.
