at Pepsi Center on January 19, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. The Thunder defeated the Nuggets 110-104. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.

The Oklahoma City Thunder came up with a surprising Game 1 win against the Golden State Warriors despite an off-night from their stars Monday, but Thunder center Steven Adams wound up with a loss in a post-game interview with ESPN’s Chris Broussard. Adams chose the wrong term to describe Warriors’ guards Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, as Sports Illustrated’s Kenny Ducey noted:

https://twitter.com/KennyDucey/status/732422649641603072

As Ducey pointed out later, this was just after an intense game, and it doesn’t seem like Adams is intentionally using a slur:

https://twitter.com/KennyDucey/status/732423327323684864

Still, that is one term you definitely do not use given the longstanding baggage it carries. Comparing any athlete to an animal is problematic enough in its own right, but a monkey reference is much worse. Adams doesn’t seem to mean any offense with his comments here, but given the potential storm this could create, he may want to be much more careful in future.

[Kenny Ducey]

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.