Kevin Durant rightly claps back at ridiculous criticism sent his way

Let's be honest, this 2024-25 Phoenix Suns season has not been good. At all. What started off so promisingly as the group went 8-1 has completely gone off the rails since, with the group somehow managing to only win 19 games since that hot start to leave them languishing in 11th spot in the Western Conference.

One player who doesn't deserve any criticism for this is Kevin Durant, who at 36-years-old has been as consistent as ever in The Valley. Is he about 90 percent of what he once was? Sure, but he's also meant to be the second best player on this roster behind Devin Booker. Durant has held up his end of the bargain, and that's on both ends of the court.

Which makes the latest criticism of him all the more ridiculous.

Durant is no stranger to seeing his name dragged through the mud - and if anything - it can feel like some people are doing it for the engagement. The superstar has no problem jumping online to give his opinion and clap back if he feels he is being unfairly judged, which is exactly what he did after the Bickley & Marotta Show on Arizona Sports came out with some tough opinions on Durant.

In a since deleted response from Durant - with the screen grab attached above as nothing ever goes away once it is on the internet - he rightly defend himself when Dan Bickley claimed that Durant's "chill vibe" had had a negative impact on Booker's temperature and demeanour. That seems a stretch, and Durant is right to call it out.

The two appear to be good friends off the court, and how Durant approaches the game has nothing to do with how Booker plays each night. Certainly Durant's attitude towards things didn't seem to rub off on Stephen Curry or Klay Thompson - himself a "chill guy" - in a bad way, while Draymond Green literally came to blows with Durant when they were teammates in San Francisco. Not very chill.

This is also the same Durant who - if you have watched the Court of Gold show on Netflix - literally was brought to tears by how the game of basketball can both bring people from all cultures together, while also giving Durant and his family more than he ever could have imagined. That doesn't seem to be pretty chill - or even cool - for that matter either. Not that Durant cares.

What he does care about is the game and enjoying every moment of it, and that is a positive trait to impart on Booker while they are teammates. Could you point out that Booker did look more focused each and every night when Chris Paul was in town? You sure could, although there was a brief moment in time where Durant, Paul and Booker were teammates in Phoenix.

But really - if Booker needs his co-star to be and act a certain way each night - then that says more about his own ability to get focused than anything else. Everybody approaches the game differently, and Durant's honest and open opinions on both his game and that of his rivals is always refreshing to hear. There's a reason he is going to once again be sought after this offseason.

So why don't we stop with the attempted division, and enjoy having Durant and Booker together on the Suns. There was a lot of years of losing and being afterthoughts in the league, and that is not the case anymore. Neither is trading Booker either - which Bickley doesn't want but says may have to happen down the road - but we're not there yet. This underwhelming Booker season isn't on Durant.