With another regular season nearing its end, it’s safe to say that Kevin Durant’s tenure in Phoenix so far has been a massive failure. After getting swept in the first round last year, the Suns are on the verge of missing the playoffs altogether. Right now, they are ranked eleventh in the West, and there is a high chance they might not even make the play-in tournament. Naturally, many are blaming KD for his inability to carry a team. But the ‘Slim Reaper’ has had enough!

During a recent segment of First Things First, veteran analysts Nick Wright and Chris Broussard had some harsh criticism for Durant amid his ongoing trade rumors. Wright said, “This next move is very important for him or else we’re gonna look at the final decade of his career, one of the downsides of playing as long as he has is there is a big bucket of his career now that is kind of unfulfilling.” Well, KD hasn’t had much playoff success since leaving the Warriors six years ago and it is beginning to taint his legacy.

Meanwhile, Broussard said, “Durant’s numbers would have you believe he is still prime Kevin Durant. He’s not prime Kevin Durant.” This season, KD is averaging 26.6 points and six rebounds, but his stats have not translated to wins. Broussard also sent a stern warning to every franchise that might be interested in acquiring KD: “Buyer beware! This is not the same Kevin Durant. This will be the first time a healthy Kevin Durant missed the playoffs. Prime Kevin Durant ain’t missing the playoffs.”

Turns out, the clip also reached Durant’s feed, and sure enough, he was not pleased with the analysts’ take.

In a brutal response to the FOX analysts, the Suns superstar tweeted, “Y’all made these guys millionaires and all they do is lie to you and make s— up outta thin air. These guys have #ruined sports.” KD is one of the few athletes who calls it as he sees it, and he seems fed up with the media constantly criticizing him on national television. And Durant’s frustration echoes a growing trend among NBA players calling out analysts for what they believe to be misleading narratives.

LeBron James has repeatedly taken to social media to shut down false rumors, one of the recent incidents involving CBS Sports‘ Bill Reiter. Lonzo Ball directly refuted the ESPN analyst’s claim about his knee injury in August 2023 with a viral video, asking Smith to “stop yappin'”. In an era where players have direct platforms to challenge the media’s grip on narratives, KD is far from alone.

And although Durant made his stance clear, he deleted his tweet just minutes later. Maybe he didn’t want the headache of another off-court controversy—especially after the recent Stephen A. Smith debacle.

Stephen A. Smith comes clean about Kevin Durant take after AI-generated clip lands him in hot water

Talking of millionaires in the media, who can forget Stephen A. Smith? He, too, has had his fair share of issues with KD in the past. Back in November, the Suns star publicly called the ESPN veteran a “clown” for his hot takes: “Yeah, Stephen A., I don’t understand how people even listen to Stephen A. I’ve been in the league for 18 years. I’ve never seen Stephen A. at a practice, or a film session, or a shoot-around. I’ve never seen him anywhere but on TV talking s— about players… He’s a clown to me. He’s always been a clown. You can write that, too.”

Smith responded by questioning KD, “Respectfully… Who’s allowed to talk about him?”

While that issue eventually settled down, a recent clip of Stephen A. criticizing Durant using profane language went viral. However, the analyst later clarified with a tweet that the video was fake: “We are living in dangerous times. There is some b.s. floating around on Instagram with me talking about @KDTrey5 — using profanity, cussing him out, etc. For the record, that is a LIE. It is A.I Generated or something. I just letting everyone know ahead of time…..THAT WAS NOT ME! No truth to it. Just so everyone knows. Complete Fabrication. Have a nice day.”

Although Smith came clean about the said clip, Durant’s deleted tweet suggests that he is still frustrated with the current media landscape. If the Suns end up missing the playoffs, then the criticism toward KD and his trade buzz will only escalate and potentially lead to more frustration for him. But do you agree with what Durant wrote in his deleted post?