The Brooklyn Nets’ season came to an end on Monday against the Boston Celtics in a shocking 4-0 sweep. The poor series by the Nets has resulted in a number of people around the NBA world criticizing star forward Kevin Durant.
Durant averaged 26.3 points per game throughout the four-game series but did not have the efficiency that fans are used to seeing from him, shooting 38.6 percent from the field and a 33.3 percent three-point percentage throughout the series.
ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith decided to criticize another part of Durant’s game, calling his leadership into question during his appearance on ESPN’s Get Up on Wednesday.
“Kevin Durant is one of the greatest players in NBA history. And I consider him to be the best player in the world today, regardless of what just happened in this series even though it was bad,” said Smith. “As great as he is as a player, he’s that poor as a leader.
“Not only is Kevin Durant the face of the franchise, he has to understand this. As much of a superstar as he is as a talent, you have to be trustworthy when it comes to galvanizing the troops around you. He is going to give you all that he’s got on the court. The problem is that he clearly lets others off the hook when they don’t.”
.@stephenasmith is questioning Kevin Durant's leadership after being swept by the Celtics.
"As great as he is as a player, he's that poor as a leader." pic.twitter.com/0Ep1iNUuxn
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) April 27, 2022
It will be interesting to see what the Nets will do going forward with their roster around Durant.
This postseason series made it very clear that the team needs more than just Kyrie Irving and Durant in order to be competitive down the stretch. The team may have been more competitive if they had Ben Simmons available for the postseason, so perhaps he can play a big impact next season, assuming he does eventually play for the team.
Durant surely won’t be too happy with Smith’s comments, and given his track record of dealing with criticism, he is likely to crack back at Smith in the coming days on social media.
[Get Up]
