Kevin Durant and Gary Payton love some trash talking, and they went at each other last season during a game between the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors on Jan. 31. Durant had roasted Payton by telling him he was the eighth man on the bench at his age, and he spoke about that exchange on Netflix’s “Starting Five.”
“Gary Payton cannot out-talk me, man,” Durant said. “He seen me in the Bay. He was just like, ‘Oh yeah, I brought that fire back out of him.’ I had to start off with him just to check his temperature. You know what I’m saying? ‘Cause he used to pressing people and checking temperatures when he was in the league.
“He was a bully,” Durant continued. “I like reigniting that in the OGs, you know what I’m saying? Like yo, let me see if you still got it, bro, mentally.”
“Gary Payton cannot out-talk me, man. I like reigniting that in the OGs, you know what I’m saying? Like yo, let me see if you still got it bro, mentally.”
Kevin Durant on his trash talk with Gary Payton 🤣
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Payton was quite a vicious trash talker during his career. He didn’t mind crossing the line even if it came across as cruel.
Not many can claim to have gotten the better of Payton in an exchange, but Durant sure did on that occasion. The 15-time All-Star also got the win on the night.
The Suns blew out the Warriors 130-105, with Durant putting up 19 points (6-13 FG), six rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block in three quarters. You couldn’t have imagined back then how differently the season was going to pan out for these teams.
The Warriors would end up with a 48-34 record and managed to get to the Western Conference Semifinals. The Suns, meanwhile, finished 36-46 and failed to even get into the play-in tournament. They also famously looked to trade Durant to the Warriors before the deadline, but he turned down the opportunity to join his former team. A parting of ways was inevitable in the offseason, though, and the 37-year-old now finds himself on the Houston Rockets.
Gary Payton On The Trash Talk With Kevin Durant
While some might have been offended by Durant’s jabs, Payton certainly wasn’t. The Hall of Famer spoke about that exchange during an interview with Complex.
“Everybody done seen that little thing,” Payton said. “Kevin, y’all got to understand. Kevin is like my young guy, and we joke around like that. People don’t know I got Kevin to go with my agent from when he came out of Texas. Him and LeBron, I’ve been knowing them kids since they were young, 16, 17 years old.
“When we went at it up in there, people were thinking we’re going at it, but I mess with him like that,” Payton continued. “I went at him, and I was like, ‘Man, I’ll do you, I’ll beat you. You’re no good, you can’t even play. You can’t even play defense. All you can do is score.’ He’s one of my guys that I love, and he’s the OG now. He stays in the game like that, and that’s great for him.”
We sure wouldn’t mind seeing Durant and Payton talking trash to each other again. The Rockets will take on the Warriors at Chase Center on Nov. 26, so we might not have to wait too long to witness that.
