The 14-time All-Star Kevin Durant crossed paths with fans before the tipoff of Suns matchup against the Dallas Mavericks, and not in a good way.
In a video posted to X, formerly Twitter, a couple who were in the stands at a mainly empty American Airline Center called the two-time NBA champion a "b***h" while he was jogging onto the court for their pre-game warm-up before the Sun's matchup against the Dallas Mavericks.
As shown in the video, Durant approached the couple, the woman immediately stuck her hand out with a big smile, expecting Durant to shake.
Though you couldn't hear what Durant and the couple were saying, he wasn't happy with the couple's taunting.
Seeing that Kevin Durant was upset, the man quickly tried to diffuse the issue, telling Durant a story about a dead relative and the man's sports podcast.
Durant, who seemed unimpressed, ended the conversation and returned to the warming-up teammates.
After the spat between Durant and the fan, security approached the couple, who looked like they would escort them out of the arena; however, Durant told him to let them stay.
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After the game, Durant spoke to Arizona Republic reporter Duane Rankin about the situation.
"My thing was like, even though you called me a b**** as I'm running out with my back turned, people usually do that, call me coward, b**** with my back turned, and it wasn't too many people around," Durant said. "I know you don't mean that, and I'm not going to get you kicked out because you paid your money for these tickets, you had a couple of drinks, and I understand how people get, but it's better ways to try to get my attention and talk to me other than call me a b**** out my name because you're protected in these arenas..."
Durant added, "It wasn't that big of a deal."
"It's like they sometimes don't look at us as humans. So when you get a chance to tell a person how you feel real quick, they'll backtrack. See, we're animals; we're circus acts, we're entertainers to them instead of real people," Durant said.
It was a tough night for the Suns, who took a road 123-113 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. Luka Doncic torched the Suns for 41 points to improve their streak to seven games.
Despite having 23 points, Durant struggled, shooting 9-22 from the field.
American Airlines has seen its fair share of hecklers over the years. Former Suns point guard, Chirs Paul had fans removed when they reportedly placed hands on a family member of Paul during the Game 4 of the Suns-Mavericks Western Conference semifinals in 2022.
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