The 2024-25 campaign has been a rough one for the Phoenix Suns, and even though he's continued to play at a high level, all eyes have been on superstar forward Kevin Durant. After getting criticized by sports analyst Skip Bayless, Durant returned the favor, bashing him in a post on social media that turned heads.
Durant's individual numbers remain spectacular, as he's averaging 26.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game for the Suns. However, according to Bayless, he thinks that Durant looks checked out, especially after the legendary scorer's name popped up in trade rumors earlier this season.
"The more I watch him at age 36, the more he looks mentally semi-retired to me," Bayless said on "The Skip Bayless Show." "He's participating in a documentary that's being made about his life and times, and it just feels to me like he's winding his basketball, and it's reflecting in the Suns win-loss record."
"The more I watch him at age 36, the more he [KD] looks mentally semi-retired to me." pic.twitter.com/YmlIM6hNhe
— The Skip Bayless Show (@SkipBaylessShow) March 8, 2025
This isn't the first time Bayless has been critical of Durant, but it appears these comments were the straw that broke the camel's back. After hearing what Bayless had to say, Durant fired back in response to this video on X with some comments of his own.
"(Expletive) it. We're both washed, it was a great run Skip Bayless," Durant said in a post on X.
With a 30-34 record, the Suns sit in the No. 11 seed in the Western Conference currently, which would result in them missing out on the NBA's play-in tournament entirely. However, they are just 1.5 games behind the injury-riddled Dallas Mavericks, so they still could conceivably make a playoff run this year.
After picking up a 125-116 win over the Mavericks on Sunday, the Suns will be back in action on Monday night, as they are set to square off against the Memphis Grizzlies at 8 p.m. EST.
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This story was originally published March 10, 2025 at 4:32 PM.