Kevin Durant finally addressed heated trash talk with NBA Hall of Famer in Warriors-Suns game: “I try to let them know”

Kevin Durant does not hold anything back. In the Phoenix Suns’ January 31st game against the Golden State Warriors, Durant grabbed attention as he was spotted trash-talking with NBA Hall of Famer and Warrior star Gary Payton Jr’s father Gary Payton Sr. The moment instantly became the talk of the town as the duo got into a massive back-and-forth verbal spat. Following the match, Durant explained the heated moment during a post-game presser.

Kevin Durant was all geared up for the clash against his former team Golden State Warriors. However, the Phoenix Suns' 135-105 win against the Warriors was not the only headline grabber as Durant has raised the eyebrows of fans after his trash talk with Gary Payton Sr. As the heated moment surfaced online, reporters asked the 14-time NBA All-Star about the same.

"It's always good when I run into an older player, especially in the 90s,” Durant said of his confrontation with Payton Sr. “Because they feel like that's the golden years of the NBA...especially GP, I try to let them know what it would've been like if he'd have been on the court with me. They tend to talk down on the mentality of our era of players," he added.

Payton Sr attended the game at Chase Center to cheer up his son. However, it did not bode well with Durant. During his talk with the press, he also made his candid admission about the situation. “I was mic’d up tonight too for the Netflix…You might gotta wait till that come out. Let’s see the back and forth. But yeah, I said something close to that, I think,” Durant said when he was asked about the specifics of the verbal spat.
However, it was all the heat of the moment as he shared his respect for the NBA legend later. "G's a great sport about it -- one of my favorite players, somebody I look up to, got major respect for,” Durant said (via ESPN). “I think we started in the summer with Team USA. We were all in the same room with Team USA, and the first thing I said to him was that he couldn't guard me. 'You're too small. Them dudes that played back in the day wasn't close to me.' I was just talking crazy to him, so I guess we picked it up from there," he continued.
Durant and Payton kept the trash talk going throughout the third quarter. "If I needed to show him that minute of basketball to let him know what I've been doing out here ... I've got 18 years of footage," the Olympic gold medalist said adding, "That minute ain't do much. He knew that was coming."
As for Payton, he responded to the moment sharing that it was "Just talking junk."
Also Read: Phoenix Suns vs Golden State Warriors (01/31): Box score, player stats, game summary, and more
Durant added 19 points, 3 assists, and 6 rebounds in the Suns’ win against the Warriors.