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Kevin Durant and Gary Payton show love with trash talk during Suns' win

blake schuster
·2-min read
Jan 31, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) reacts after having his jersey pulled during action against the Golden State Warriors in the first quarter at the Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images
Jan 31, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) reacts after having his jersey pulled during action against the Golden State Warriors in the first quarter at the Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

Kevin Durant is one of the best trash talkers of his generation. Gary Payton is one of the best of his era.

Was there any chance the two wouldn't jaw at each other as Payton sat courtside in San Francisco with Durant's Suns in town? Of course not. This is Gary Payton, after all. The same guy who, as a rookie tried to talk trash to Michael Jordan in a preseason game.

The best part however, is just how much Durant and Payton seemed to appreciate and respect the vitriol they directed at each other.

Let's pick it up in the third quarter, when cameras clearly caught the two icons going at it:

It appeared the back-and-forth got Durant going on the court as he nailed three 3-pointers right before the end of the quarter, but Durant denied that was the case.

"If I needed to show him that minute of basketball to let him know what I've been doing out here ... I've got 18 years of footage," Durant said postgame per ESPN. "That minute ain't do much. He knew that was coming."

Even better: Payton seemed to be all about it. The two shared a nice laugh after Durant's outburst.

Payton — who's son Gary Payton II finished with three points and three rebounds for Golden State in a 130-105 loss — told ESPN he was "just talking junk" with Durant.

The Suns' star, however seemed to be a little bit more serious about his antics — or at least continued to commit to the bit after the win.

"It's always good when I run into an older player, especially if they played in the '90s, because they feel like that's the golden years of the NBA. So I try to let them know, especially GP, I try to let them know what it would have been like if they'd have been on the court with me. They tend to talk down on the mentality of our era's players.

"G's a great sport about it -- one of my favorite players, somebody I look up to, got major respect for."

The best part of all: Durant confirmed he was mic'd up during the game for the next season of Netflix's Starting 5, so we're sure to get the full conversation between him an Payton soon enough.

We cannot wait to see that footage.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Kevin Durant and Gary Payton show love with trash talk during Suns' win