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Bucks’ Kyle Kuzma rips critic in defense of Kevin Durant’s legacy

ClutchPoints · Jedd Pagaduan · 2026-08-20T04:21:24+00:00 · nguồn gốc

Kevin Durant's legacy continues to be a talking point among fans on social media, especially in the aftermath of Russell Westbrook's retirement. Durant memorably left Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2016, when he signed with the Golden State Warriors to form a super team. This negatively affected how fans perceived Durant's legacy, although for Milwaukee Bucks forward Kyle Kuzma, the disrespect towards arguably the greatest pure scorer in NBA history has to stop. After all, the Bucks forward said, Durant is well-respected among his peers. And that, at the end of the day, is what should matter, according to Kuzma. “His legacy is upmost respected amongst his peers and that my friend is truly the only thing that matters. The people that really tie those sneakers up say that you’re him. Not the media, not the fan. Golden state or not,” Kuzma wrote in response to a critic of Durant's legacy on X. Kuzma then clarified that fan criticism of Durant's legacy can co-exist with the unanimous respect he has from other players across the association. “Fans matter 100%. Never said otherwise. My point was fans and players see the game differently, and both views are real,” Kuzma added. Durant is a two-time NBA champion and a two-time NBA Finals MVP, but many fans believe he took the easy way out by signing with a Warriors team that was coming off a 73-win season. And for the two seasons in which the Dubs were fully healthy with Durant on the roster, the outcome of the NBA season seemed almost inevitable. But it's a testament to how impactful of a superstar Durant is that his presence turned the Warriors from the league's greatest powerhouse at the time to a surefire NBA champion. Not many players can do that, as it is incredibly difficult to win a championship. However, to be loved and to be respected are two different things, and Durant simply cannot have both as a consequence of the decisions he made in the past.