Even though the Phoenix Suns lost their recent game against the Boston Celtics, Kevin Durant managed to win hearts. After the game, KD signed a jersey for Jayson Tatum with a heartfelt message. An image of the jersey with KD’s message on it was shared on Reddit which went viral. While most of the comments were respectful and acknowledged Durant’s humility, some fans took the opportunity to poke fun at the Suns star
KD had a memorable game at the Footprint Center with 45 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists. Unfortunately, his efforts could not measure up to the force that the Celtics had to offer. The game ended 107-117 with several brilliant performances from the Boston squad, including Tatum’s 29 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists. As a token of respect for the youngster, KD signed, “JT, one of the greats. Keep cookin’,” on his jersey.
One fan wrote, “Kevin had to go to Phoenix to become likable, we have come full circle.” Although the comment got downvoted, it remains one of the quirkiest responses to the original post.
A Celtics fan under the post said, “The Durant v Tatum matches are .” Which is spot on, going by the recent memory.
The fan who originally posted the jersey on the subreddit said, “This comes after the Celtics beat the Suns despite Kevin Durant’s 45/10/6 effort tonight.” It’s like a bittersweet moment where not only do you see KD giving flowers to JT, but it also shows his maturity, to be able to greet his opponent kindly, despite suffering a soul-crushing loss.
A Lakers fan on the subreddit said, “Imma be depressed when Durant retires.”
Another fan acknowledged KD’s humility by saying, “Gotta love KD man, always giving props.”
While Jayson Tatum was a massive fan of Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant was the player he modeled his game after, as per Newsday. So, to have such a massive compliment from Durant will have undoubtedly made him beyond proud of himself. That said, given their long history of battling on the court, this was unlikely to have been the first time Durant graced Tatum with his own admiration.
Kevin Durant and Jayson Tatum faced off in 2014
Credits: USA TODAY SPORTS
The love and admiration between the two athletes isn’t new. In an interview in his rookie year, Tatum unveiled that in 2014 he went to KD’s Skills Academy where he got a chance to play against the NBA star. He said, “I think it was my sophomore year in high school. I went to the KD Skills Academy…and they gave us a chance to play pickup with him.” While young JT was excited over the fact that he’d play against Durant, the NBA star taught the youngster a valuable lesson that day.
“For some reason, I thought like, ‘He’s going to be nice, he’s gonna take it easy. But like, he was playing hard, and dunking on us and blocking our shot. And it kinda made me realize that, when you get on the floor, like, there’s no friends out here”
Tatum was expecting KD to go easy on them since they were just high school kids. To his surprise, Durant came out swinging, showing the youngsters that once you step on the court, it’s not going to be a friendly fire. Almost undoubtedly, this is a lesson that Tatum holds very close to his heart to this day.
