Kevin Durant hits back at NBA legend Scottie Pippen over comments

Kevin Durant is largely regarded as one of the best scorers in the league. He once again proved it in the NBA Playoffs 2021, where he averaged 34.3 PPG, which included a historic 49-point triple-double in Game 5 against the Bucks. But KD’s efforts did not help the Nets cross the line as they failed to win Game 7, which resulted in their season getting cut short. As brilliant as Kevin Durant has been in this series, the second-round exit has called for some attention and Scottie Pippen had his say on this, where he came out and said that KD had more to learn to reach LeBron's level.

What did Scottie Pippen say about Kevin Durant?

While talking to GQ the former Chicago Bull player had some big statements about Kevin Durant. The six-time NBA Champion felt that KD was gassed out to make that last play and he compared him to LeBron saying, “He tries to beat the Milwaukee Bucks instead of utilising his team. You see what I’m saying? LeBron James would’ve figured out how to beat them and he wouldn't have been exhausted and he may not even have taken the last shot. But LeBron ain't KD and KD ain't LeBron. KD is a shooter, a scorer. But he doesn’t have what LeBron has.”

When asked if KD had surpassed LeBron, Pippen said, “Surpassing LeBron James takes a lot more of an individual effort. He is a complete team player, who understands the team and winning. Has KD got to that level yet, he went home.”

KD’s response to Pippen’s comment

After a stellar postseason, KD was not ready to hear any slander as he replied to Scottie Pippens in his own way. The two-time Finals MVP took to Twitter to reply to Pippen's comment and brought up the Bulls star's career-low moment, where he was denied taking the last shot in the game against the Knicks. This decision infuriated the player, who was number 2 to Michael Jordan and he felt that the moment was his, but coach Phil Jackson assigned Toni Kukoc the responsibility of taking the last shot, which resulted in Pippen deciding not to go back into the game. 

NBA reaction to Kevin Durant Scottie Pippen spat

The NBA community was quick to react to Pippen's comments on KD. Analysts Skip Bayless, Nick Wright and Chris Broussard responded to the former Bulls player's comments. Nick Wright, on First Things First said, "Criticising Kevin Durant for what he did in overtime of game 7 because he was 0-6 and he was totally spent, disregards how brilliant he was to get them to overtime, how brilliant he was to get them to Game 7."

Image Credits: Brooklyn  Nets /Twitter