Brooklyn Nets

The text message Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving sent Kevin Durant that made a huge impression

Published by
Ryan Ward

The Brooklyn Nets have one of the most talented duos in the NBA. The combination of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant didn’t get seen on the basketball floor this season, but it will during the 2020-21 campaign with Steve Nash as their head coach.

Durant, who sat out the entire 2019-20 NBA season, recently started his own podcast called “The ETCs with Kevin Durant” and shed some light on how he came to know Irving throughout his new platform.

“Me and Kyrie have a mutual friend in Jeff Rogers who worked at Nike. He was our grassroots guy,” Durant said. “Over time once Ky got into the league Jeff just happened to throw us in the text one night.

 

“We were playing the Cavs (Cleveland Cavaliers)…and me looking at it like we’re No. 1 in the West, we’re playing against a (crappy) Cavs team – this is before I’d seen the light on Kyrie Irving – and I get this text from Jeff and Ky, and Ky was straight up serious. I’m joking around thinking it’s just another game, and Ky was so locked in, like, ‘We’re going to see tomorrow.’ It wasn’t, ‘What’s up little bro, big bro.’ It’s like, ‘Alright I’m going to see what’s up tomorrow.’”

Next season, Irving and Durant are expected to be healthy begin a new era of Nets basketball in Brooklyn. It remains to be seen what kind of player Durant will be coming off an Achilles injury that usually ends most NBA careers.

Although Durant’s recovery has some skeptical of whether he can return to form, the Nets still have high expectations even with a rookie head coach at the helm in Nash. Brooklyn could become the team to beat in the Eastern Conference if this duo lives up to its potential.

Ryan Ward

Ryan is a veteran sportswriter with nearly a decade of experience covering the NBA and NFL. He has also interviewed numerous players and coaches as a credentialed member of the media. Follow him on Twitter @RyanWardLA.

Published by
Ryan Ward

Recent Posts

Nets GM: There was ‘a lot of interest’ in Cam Johnson before trade deadline

The Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline came and went with star forward Cam Johnson remaining…

19 hours ago

Report: Bobby Portis failed drug test around Thanksgiving

The stretch run of the 2024-25 regular season for the Milwaukee Bucks might have gotten…

1 day ago

Report: Spurs sped up rebuild in case Wemby were to have shortened career, but likely didn’t picture blood clot issue

Star big man Victor Wembanyama's 2024-25 season with the San Antonio Spurs appears to be…

2 days ago

Report: Spurs ‘very confident’ Victor Wembanyama will be good for next season after blood clot diagnosis

On Thursday, fans of the San Antonio Spurs received some unfortunate news regarding the face…

2 days ago

Mark Williams suggests something was going on behind Lakers’ curtain aside from just his physical

The Los Angeles Lakers reportedly rescinded a trade for Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams because…

2 days ago

Report: Asking price for Matthew Stafford believed to be 1st-round pick

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford carved out a very productive 2024 season. He started…

3 days ago