Paul Pierce Says Nets’ Kevin Durant Calling Out His Teammates Is When ‘everything Started To Change’

Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant has been a superstar in the NBA seemingly since he entered the league in 2007 as the first overall draft pick out of Texas. With that status has come with stellar play and sometimes, him doing things that most players wouldn’t dream about doing. One of those things is calling out teammates.

In an article published in November, Durant had an exclusive interview with Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes. In the interview, Durant and Haynes talked about topics such as Durant’s trade request and his frustrations with the coaching under Steve Nash. However, within this one-on-one, Durant also called out his teammates with a famous quote:

“Look at our starting lineup. Edmond Sumner, Royce O’Neale, Joe Harris, Claxton (Nic) and me. It’s not disrespect, but what are you expecting from that group? You expect us to win because I’m out there. So if you’re watching from that lens, you’re expecting us to play well because No. 7 is out there.”

Durant took some criticism for this quote because it threw some of his teammates under the bus for not being as good as him. While most agreed that Durant was speaking the truth, those in agreement also acknowledged that it’s just something that you don’t say in public. Former Brooklyn Net Paul Pierce said that Durant saying what he said was a good thing for the Nets:

“You know what’s so funny? I feel like everything started to change when Durant called out his teammates. Maybe they woke up from that because since then, he stepped up. We always talk about don’t throw your teammates under the bus to the media. This is something that could be private, but, shoot, he’s also like ‘I’m Kevin Durant y’all, I can say this’ and we’re gonna go one way or the other.”