Kevin Durant is not holding back on his former teammate.
Speaking with reporters after Wednesday’s loss to the Brooklyn Nets, Durant was asked about the latest violent incident involving Draymond Green. The former Defensive Player of the Year Green struck Jusuf Nurkic in the face with a swinging back fist during a game on Tuesday (video here).
“That was insane to see,” Durant said, via NBC Sports Bay Area's Tristi Rodriguez. “Glad Nurk is alright. Never seen that on the basketball court in an NBA game.
“I hope Draymond gets the help that he needs. It’s been incident after incident. I know Draymond, and he hasn’t been that way when I was around him and coming into the league. So hopefully he gets the help he needs and [can] get back on the court and put all this stuff behind him.”
Of course, Nurkic is Durant’s current teammate on the Suns, so the strong reaction was almost a given. But there is plenty of very well-documented history between Durant and Green, who were teammates in Golden State from 2016-19 and had some big clashes along with the two championships they won together. Even with tensions seemingly thawing in recent years (Durant and Green did reunite for a Team USA gold medal victory at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021), signs of pettiness between the two still exist.
In any case, the NBA agreed that Green needs some help. The league decided to suspend him indefinitely after the Nurkic incident and will require Green to receive counseling and meet certain other criteria before being allowed back.
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