After peppering Nas and KD with questions about the best National Basketball Association rapper, Kevin Durant’s Rick James tattoo and what Nas would’ve done to stop the Biggie vs Tupac beef, Simmons shifted the conversation to Russell Westbrook.
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Durant gritted his teeth through a discussion of his move from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Golden State Warriors, reminisced about his childhood love of Rick James, and said he doesn’t bother carrying competition off of the court when asked about his former teammate Russell Westbrook.
Then, Nas and Durant talked about rivalries, both in basketball and in hip-hop. “That’s when we’re gonna go at each other, that’s when I’m gonna do what I do in my zone, and that’s when you’re gonna do what you do”. I’m not going out and meeting Russell by his vehicle and wanting to talk to him and he’s not gonna want to fight me. “So, no matter what I do, somebody’s gonna say something, so I can’t avoid that”. That people would say like.it’s nearly like they were trying to portray you as a weak person to go to Golden State. I don’t carry that with me as soon as I step off the court. It’s not like. I don’t care about you that much to try to want to hate you. I’m not thinking about you at home when I’m on my couch for me to hate you that much.
Kevin Durant: In my field, it’s like, when you step between the lines, that’s when we compete.
Simmons brought up how great the Warriors’ fans are, and Durant agreed, noting that the team had been bad for so long and are only just getting back to an elite level. That’s just not who I am, but when we play, I’m not even thinking about you. “Why should I care what they think if they don’t care about me as a whole?”
The NBA forward, who traded in his OKC jersey over the summer for a spot along side Stephen Curry and his Golden State Warriors, appeared on the show on September 22 with hip-hop veteran Nas. I’m anxious about how I’m gonna dominate.
Simmons: I remember I went to college in Western Massachusetts and about Year 4 I was ready to get out. I really just got a different jersey on.
“I could speak all night about Russell”, Durant said. At the time, he was still balancing life between two franchises and to speak out against those attacking him would have been unwise, so he didn’t really have a way to stand up for himself.
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The next target, though, is one you might not expect: Bill Simmons himself and his beloved Patriots.
