Even Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant can be thrown off of his game when someone like Rihanna shows up in the stands.
Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant is currently in Las Vegas at Team USA training camp, looking to help his country win the Gold Medal at the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris. While the Suns didn’t exactly have a great year this season, Durant remains one of the ten or so best players in the league as he enters his age 36 campaign in 2024-25.
While fans may look at players like Durant, LeBron James, and other icons as indestructible superheroes out on the basketball court, it turns out there are things that throw even the game’s best players off of their game at times. One of those things, evidently, is the appearance of various celebrities at Durant’s games whom the star apparently has an affinity for.
Durant recently took to Logan Paul’s Impaulsive podcast to discuss.
“I wouldn’t say distracted but I do acknowledge them sometimes,” said Durant about celebrities showing up at his games. “Especially if it’s some baddies in the stands for sure.”
Durant also referenced one celebrity in particular who has been known to be an avid fan of the NBA.
“When Rihanna walks in it’s hard now. It’s all the baddies bro,” said Durant.
Rihanna and Durant were actually involved in what some thought was a playful rivalry back during the 2017 NBA Finals, when the star singer showed up at Game 1 of the Golden State Warriors vs Cleveland Cavaliers series and appeared to be cheering on LeBron James and the Cavs. Some interpreted a glance Durant took at the stands following one of his many made jumpers that evening to be a stare at Rihanna. If that was indeed the case, evidently, there are no hard feelings between the two now.
Can the Suns rebound?
As previously mentioned, Durant and the Suns did not have the 2023-24 season that they had envisioned going in. The Bradley Beal experiment was an unmitigated disaster (with no clear way of getting out of it), and the Suns were unceremoniously swept out of the first round of the playoffs by Anthony Edwards and the upstart Minnesota Timberwolves.
There aren’t many good avenues for the Suns to improve the roster around Durant, Beal, and Devin Booker in the short term, and the team has already lost some of its depth, with Eric Gordon opting to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency.
In any case, look for Durant to let out some of his frustration on the Olympics basketball court this summer.