Kevin Durant and Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns
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PHOENIX, ARIZONA - MARCH 21: Kevin Durant #35 of the Phoenix Suns hugs Devin Booker #1 after the Suns defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 123-112 at PHX Arena on March 21, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. 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. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
DeMarcus Cousins, former NBA All-Star, is no stranger to confrontation. Just this month, while continuing his playing career in Puerto Rico, he got into an altercation with a fan that led to him trying to mimic Ron Artest’s charge into the stands during the Malice at the Palace, in an attempt to confront a fan who had hit him with a thrown drink. He knows what conflict looks like.
It is therefore of note that Cousins, despite no longer being in the NBA, has today spoken of multiple altercations within the Phoenix Suns locker room this past season.
Speaking on the Run It Back podcast hosted by Michelle Beadle, Chandler Parsons and Lou Williams, Cousins spoke on how he had heard of “a lot of things” that happened in the Suns’ locker room during their difficult 2024-25 season, including supposed fights that had previously not been heard of.
“There was a lot of things that haven’t been reported”, said Cousins.” “I don’t want to be the guy to report it, but I’ve definitely heard of some negative things in the locker room. There was a couple of fistfights. There was a lot going on that obviously carries over to the court.”
Suns Star Denies Cousins’ Version
Notwithstanding the irony of claiming not to want to be the one to report it while also being the first and only one to report it, Cousins’ claims have already reverberated around the league. While he is no longer in the NBA himself, his career was both recent enough and esteemed enough for it to be plenty plausible that Cousins is privy to good sources of contemporary inside information. The intriguing thought experiment is where he may have heard this from.
During Cousins’ time in the NBA, among his many stops was a stint with the Golden State Warriors, where he teamed up with current Suns forward Kevin Durant. A link can therefore be made that, if Cousins truly did have any intel on what went down in Phoenix this season, Durant may have been the one to speak to him about it.
If Durant did do that, though, he certainly is not now. As the highest-profile member of the Suns – until his inevitable trade, at least – Durant took to X with his usual quickness to emphatically deny the rumor Cousins claimed he did not want to spread, calling his claim a “94-footer” (i.e. a hugely hopeful attempt) that had no grain of truth to it.
I have to contest this 94 footer. This some bullshit to throw on us. Yea yea yea we were trash this year ha ha ha but we NEVER got close to this. NEVER https://t.co/JfjA7wmLa7
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) June 20, 2025
Either Way, More Upheaval Is Coming
To be sure, it was a tumultuous season for the Suns. Needing to regroup after their incredibly disappointing 2023-24 season – one in which they were supposed to be competitive but never even entered the conversation – they in fact got worse, limping to a 36-46 record and firing both their head coach and general manager at season’s end. To make matters worse, a further rumor speaks of a cash flow crisis.
In the midst of all that turmoil, a fight seems eminently likely. While rumors of tumult do not suffice alone as evidence – especially second-hand ones – they certainly sound plausible, given the atmosphere around the franchise as a whole. As Durant himself said in his rebuttal to Cousins, “we were trash this year”.
Durant, however, would know best about what truly went on, and his denial carries more weight than Cousins’ hearsay. Certainly, Durant has a reason to toe the party line; while it is expected that he will be traded either this week or next, assuming the Suns lower their demands for him, he is still a member of the Suns. He could also, though, have stayed silent. And he did not. Neither did Cousins, but only one of them was actually there.
Perhaps the truth lies somewhere in the middle of the two versions of events. That is often the case. However, given that the Suns will be attempting to heavily reshape their roster anyway, and already were prior to this rumor, the hope will be that it all ultimately proves inconsequential. There does not need to have been actual punches thrown to justify blowing up the team.