‘Shine Kevin Durant’s Shoes’: Stephen A. Smith Mercilessly Rips Into Nets’ Dennis Schroder for Calling KD Weak
Stephen A. Smith blasts Dennis Schroder for calling Kevin Durant "weak," questioning his credibility and basketball IQ in a fiery rant that left no stone unturned. Read more
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On Tuesday morning, Stephen A. Smith from ESPN fiercely criticized Dennis Schroder for his remarks about Kevin Durant:
“You attacked [Durant]s] manhood. You’re talking about he’s weak, how dare you say something like that about Kevin Durant? We’ve got to put respect on this brother’s name. Again, if he deserves criticism here and there, I’ll give it to him… Dennis Schroder, you can’t shine Kevin Durant’s shoes.”
After Team USA basketball dominated the 2024 Paris Olympics to win the gold medal, with Kevin Durant playing a crucial role, the Phoenix Suns star fired back at Dennis Schroder’s FIBA comments. Following the final victory over France, Durant tweeted, “Entertainment and high IQ.”
Earlier, Schroder, who played for Germany and is currently with the Brooklyn Nets, had commented after their bronze medal game that European basketball focuses more on IQ than entertainment. Although Durant’s response seemed like a playful jab at the time, it quickly drew attention.
Schroder clearly took the comments to heart and responded by calling Durant "weak" during a recent Twitch stream. He said, "They won, and Kevin Durant tweets, 'High IQ and entertainment.' To me, that's just weak. You're a star of that caliber, and you have to say something to someone like me who didn't even mean it negatively. I was just pointing out what I observed from both sides, you know what I mean? I didn't appreciate it.
I don't care, but at the end of the day, that tweet or whatever he posted was because of me. For me, it was never anything negative. I respect all of those guys, all GOATs, but saying that shows me how weak he is as a person."
Stephen A. fully defended Durant, arguing that Schroder should show much more respect for one of the greatest players of all time. When it comes to the Olympics, KD is in a league of his own. The veteran now has three gold medals and stands as the all-time leading scorer in Team USA history, surpassing Carmelo Anthony in Paris.
To be brutally honest, Durant has every right to say what he wants after winning it all. We all know he enjoys having fun on social media and sometimes trolling fans and other players. I highly doubt KD meant anything serious by it, and he probably didn't expect Schroder to respond.
Calling Kevin Durant weak is very inaccurate, though. Just look at his resume and the kind of basketball player and person he is. It's truly the worst word to describe the veteran. Needless to say, the upcoming match-up between the Nets and Suns in the 2024-25 season will be interesting.
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