"That's what Jesus did": Nets star Kevin Durant explains why he responds to trolls and critics on Twitter
Daniel Foster Kevin Durant believes that by reaching out to those who’re criticizing him, the Nets star becomes more human and personable.
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One of the quirks that makes Kevin Durant so relatable to fans is that he’s actively interacting with them. Practically every day, the Nets star is out spying on the NBA world across sports media. When he wants to, KD often engages with fans. Sometimes, even with trolls.
Durant uses both his own account as well as ‘burner accounts’, where he masquerades as a different person online. He’d primarily use his burners to make a basketball point at one point. But once the story about his burners broke, Durant is now a lot more comfortable using his own official handles.
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His most recent foray into the world of social media saw him laughing off at a threat from Big Baby. Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis had threatened his teammate Kyrie Irving of dire consequences for stomping on ‘Lucky’ – the Celtics’ logo.
Durant’s response was short, expressive and accurate. This is by now a trademark of his Twitter persona, where he puts his point succintly and allows the Internet to react.
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Kevin Durant compares his approach to that of Jesus Christ
Durant sat down to give a tell-all interview with an NY Times staff writer in late April. By this time, he’d already returned to the court after another extended layoff. This time, it was his hamstring that flared up and kept him from chasing a second MVP trophy.
“People are naturally emotional when they talk to somebody they feel is on a higher pedestal than them. I’m trying to say: We equals at the end of the day. Once I bring ’em up to that, then they realize what they was doing was childish.”
“Jesus used to do that. He used to go to the worst places, and go find the people who hated him, absolutely hated him. Who denied him, never even thought about saying his name.”
“He went to go holla at them and give them the truth. And once they heard the truth they souls changed, and they couldn’t deny it. So I try to take that approach.”
