- After Perkins called Russell Westbrook "the best player to have ever put on a Oklahoma City Thunder Jersey," Durant defended his legacy with his first NBA franchise and critiqued Perkins' contributions to the team.
- It wasn't the first time this week Durant garnered attention for his social media commentary, as he clapped back at fans who called his new team the Brooklyn Nets irrelevant.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories .
Kevin Durant engaged in a public feud with former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Kendrick Perkins on Twitter Thursday night.
There's little doubt that Kevin Durant is one of this generation's most talented stars.
But where he stacks up as a competitor? Well, that's a bit of a different debate.
Durant's former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate, Kendrick Perkins, critiqued the 10-time NBA All-Star's legacy on Twitter Thursday night after referring to Russell Westbrook as "the best player to have ever put on a Oklahoma City Thunder Jersey." And Durant who is known both for his blunt commentary on social media and for his history of using burner accounts refused to let Perkins sully his name without a fight.
Check out what went down below:
The feud started innocently enough. Perkins tweeted to tease an upcoming appearance on SportsCenter in which he claimed that Russell Westbrook was the greatest player in Thunder franchise history.
Boston Celtics writer Mark DAmico chimed in to argue that Westbrook may have had the bestcareer in Oklahoma City but certainly wasnt the Thunders best player ever.
Perkins disagreed.
And when DAmico invoked Westbrooks postseason success or lack thereof in Oklahoma City, Perkins responded with a critique of Durants playoff history there.
Thats when Durant chimed in.
First, Perkins owned up to his subpar performance during the playoff series in question, when the Thunder survived the Houston Rockets before falling to the Memphis Grizzlies without Westbrook in 2013. He also noted that he, too, won an NBA championship in his career.
But then Perkins criticized Durants decision to leave Oklahoma City for the reigning champion Golden State Warriors in 2016, mere months after Durant, Westbrook, and company lost a seven-game series to the Warriors in the Western Conference finals.
Apparently Durant had heard that critique before.
He then once again took aim at Perkins poor production with the Thunder. The retired big man responded with the common talking point that Durants championships are less meaningful because he joined a team that was historically great before his arrival.
One fan brought the conversation full-circle by questioning whether Durant was angry about not getting a tribute video from his former franchise. Westbrook received a warm welcome and a tribute video in his first return to Oklahoma City Thursday night after his trade to Houston during the offseason.
This wasnt the first time Durants tweets received attention this week. When a fan implied that his new team Brooklyn Nets are irrelevant, Durant clapped back with a pithy response.
Durant is out for the season after rupturing his Achilles tendon during Game 5 of last years NBA Finals. Rest assured, the 2014 NBA MVP and four-time NBA scoring champion will continue talking smack on Twitter until he makes his Nets debut next season.
Now check out Jimmy Butlers feud with T.J. Warren from earlier this week.
Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Jimmy Butler called TJ Warren soft and trash after an on-court feud ended with profanities, blown kisses, middle fingers, and an ejection
See Also:
- Golden State's frustrations from its abysmal season came to a head as Steve Kerr got ejected for telling refs to 'wake the f--- up'
- The team the NBA world thought was on the verge of a fire sale is suddenly in the thick of the playoff race
- Luka Doncic notched a 21-point quarter and another triple-double and shrugged it off as 'just stats'