Kevin Durant and Bruce Brown were teammates on the Brooklyn Nets for two years before Brown joined the Denver Nuggets ahead of the 2022-23 NBA season. After Game 4 of the NBA Finals, Durant lashed out against a fan’s narrative about when both players were in Brooklyn.
Brown and the Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat in Game 4 on Friday night, giving Denver a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. Brown had a big night, coming off of the bench to score 21 points.
Eddie Gonzalez of FanDuel TV tweeted that “This is Bruce Brown’s moment on the championship DVD and it’s gonna take like 4 minutes of the 90.”
This is Bruce brown’s moment on the championship dvd and it’s gonna take like 4 minutes of the 90
— Eddie Gonzalez (@bansky) June 10, 2023
One fan, Jeri Tsai, responded that Brown was “That same player KD didn’t want back on the Nets.”
Gonzalez replied, “As someone who spent a lotta time going to and from games with him in bk… this narrative delusional as hell.”
As someone who spent a lotta time going to and from games with him in bk… this narrative delusional as hell. https://t.co/znbMGe5XvK
— Eddie Gonzalez (@bansky) June 10, 2023
But Gonzalez wasn’t the only one to shoot the narrative down. Durant did the same. “At some point, Nets Twitter has to stop making **** up….I know, I know, I’m soft for this tweet. I’ll delete soon,” he tweeted.
Did Kevin Durant not want Bruce Brown on the Nets? KD weighs in. pic.twitter.com/EwzyXS0hBZ
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) June 10, 2023
So, where does this narrative come from? To a degree, it comes from Brown, though Durant’s name wasn’t given.
Brown recently said that Brooklyn’s front office wanted him back, hinting that a player might have been behind it. He wouldn’t name the player specifically and even said that he didn’t know. But it’s unlikely that any player, outside of Durant and Kyrie Irving, would have had enough stroke to influence such a decision.
Maybe Durant had nothing to do with the Nets not bringing Brown back. But even if that’s the case, this isn’t just someone baselessly fanning a flame.
Whatever the reason for Brown not returning to Brooklyn, the move to Denver has gone well. The Nuggets are one game away from the first NBA Championship in franchise history.
