Kevin Durant Calls out the Russell Westbrook Haters: ‘The Dialogue Around our Game is So Toxic’

Kevin Durant is speaking his mind.

NBA stars continue to come out in support of Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook after the Los Angeles Lakers star found himself under heavy scrutiny again last week. Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant has joined in the support of his former teammate, emphasizing the toxicity of the debate over Westbrook, via Boardroom:

“I mean Russ always did that. It feels like he was just getting his mind right, just his own routine before the game. But if you play in L.A. next to the biggest figure in sports in LeBron James, everything you do is gonna be magnified, especially if the outside perception is that your team is gonna struggled. People don’t trust that your team is gonna be good. That’s how they feel about us, the Lakers, teams that they had high hopes for last year that didn’t come through. The Lakers got a big microscope on them so you got to be on point every time. So if Russell misses a layup it’s gonna be blown out of proportion. If he misses a 3, he might be 5-for-7, but he missed those two shots, you know what I’m saying? I understand that there’s certain. points where you don’t play well and you are open to criticism when you don’t play well, we get that. But it’s like now you’re making him the bud of your jokes. It’s getting to a point where it’s like alright, I get the criticism for what he did that night, but now it’s starting to reach a different level with some shit that I don’t understand right now. So hopefully he just keeps hooping and blocks all that noise out and prove to everybody that they’re wrong about how they feel about his game and they mesh over there in L.A. But when we play them, I hope they play shitty, but I hope all that stuff works out because I hate how they talk. The dialogue around our game is just so toxic at this point. I get criticism, but it’s starting to turn into something else right now.”

KD isn’t a fan of the Russell Westbrook criticism:

"It's like now you're making him the butt of your jokes… I get criticism [on the court], but it's starting to turn into something else right now."

pic.twitter.com/TwhoT0fJpJ

— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) October 18, 2022

Unfortunately this is what it’s like being a modern day athlete living with Social Media. You’re best to stay as far away as possible, especially when you’re in the public eye. But we know KD is a guy who loves Social  Media, and isn’t afraid to engage with trolls.

But talk about toxic, welcome to the fricking internet.

Welcome to the game outside the game! Follow us on our Sideaction Twitter handle, Instagram, and Facebook for the latest on sports and pop culture news across the web!