Kevin Durant lambasts media making a meal of Mike Budenholzer confrontation: “That shows me and Bud really care”

Kevin Durant addresses his heated exchange with head coach Mike Budenholzer, emphasizing that it reflects their shared passion for winning

Kevin Durant lambasts media making a meal of Mike Budenholzer confrontation: “That shows me and Bud really care”

Kevin Durant explains his confrontation with head coach Bud

Today, the Phoenix Suns made a vigorous comeback from a 19-point deficit in the fourth quarter—the highest in franchise history, according to ESPN’s research. This was all credited to Kevin Durant‘s old-school aggression and their head coach, Mike Budenholzer, whom KD called a great “catalyst” in an interview with ESPN.

KD sat down to open up about the viral back-and-forth between him and his head coach. The 15-time All-Star clarified that it was nothing but business as usual. Mike explained he and Durant are actually “like old friends”. KD, on the other hand, said that he appreciates Bud for allowing him to have a voice on the team as an established veteran. He also added that the scuffle and barking were mostly over a difference in opinions regarding their offensive strategy.

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I’m glad that the win is going to sweep all of that stupid stuff under the rug. Because people couldn’t wait…. couldn’t wait to run with that and say, ‘This is the reason why the team ain’t playing well, because of that specific thing.’ But come on man, that shows that me and Bud really care about trying to right this ship and trying to win basketball games.

Kevin Durant via ESPN

The 36-year-old acknowledged that despite having an explosive fourth quarter offensively, his head coach deserved all the credit for his adjustments. He cited one specific example of Bud’s coaching acumen when he inserted Collin Gillespie into the game—a young up-and-comer who is currently on a two-way contract with the Suns.

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It was a great night for KD in particular, who scored 34 points, 19 of which came during the last quarter in clutch moments. This was highly precious in the Suns’ 119-117 victory over the Clippers. Currently, the Suns squad is making a final push for a playoff spot as the regular season nears its final stages. With a 10th seed in a packed Western Conference, even with an impressive win on Tuesday, the Valley of the Sun looks bleaker than ever.

Draymond Green hails Kevin Durant’s 4th quarter masterclass

The Pheonix crowd had lost all of its enthusiasm by the third quarter when they saw their team trailing by 23 points. However, the tide quickly shifted in their favour. From the beginning of the last quarter, Kevin Durant was hell bent on willing his team out of its deficit and push them to victory line. Possession after possession, he was making corner threes, making extra pass, just doing everything right.

His peers took notice of it, and one of his former teammates took to X to laud his offensive exhibition. It seems like Draymond Green couldn’t wait to give his reaction. Here’s what Green tweeted out:

Back against the wall, slim pushed all his chips to the middle of the table and Willed them to a W! One of the more impressive performances I’ve seen from Trey5!

Draymond Green tweeted

These two veterans go way back. Together, they won two championships and went through their own ups and downs as teammates on the court. Their partnership ended after the 2018-19 season when Durant left for the Brooklyn Nets following a Finals loss to the Toronto Raptors. However, these days, it’s nothing but mutual respect between the OGs of the game.