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USA Basketball Men's National Team Practice

Kevin Durant has finally spoken.

Kevin and the rest of team USA were out practicing in Las Vegas and the media finally got to ask him what we’ve all been wondering over the past week.

The former Oklahoma City Thunder player was present for the press conference where he announced he was taking his talents to the Golden State Warriors, but in such a controlled environment all of the tough questions were easily avoided.

With plenty of backlash, two of the biggest critics were NBA greats Reggie Miller and Charles Barkley. Reggie wrote a lengthy letter about playing his entire career with the Indiana Pacers without winning a championship and admitted that he’d do it all again the same way. Charles, on the other hand, made an appearance on ESPN’s Mike & Mike and said the 27-year-old is chasing a ring.

During his 25-minute sit down with reporters Monday, Kevin addressed the criticism, saying, “Those are two guys, you know? They’ve got a voice in our game, and a lot of people probably felt the same way, but they don’t have a voice so obviously what they say is translated through a megaphone so it feels like everybody else (thinks that). If Charles Barkley said it, it must be true. If Reggie Miller says it, it must be true. It just feels like it’s bigger than what it is. But for the most part, I got the support around me. I’ve got the family that supports me no matter what, that love me no matter what I do. I could be playing tennis right now, and I could retire from the game of basketball and they’re still going to love me. If I think about that, I’ll be fine.”

He even spoke on his relationship with old teammate Russell Westbrook and denied the rumor that a riff between the two superstars made Kevin leave.

Nah, it wasn’t (a factor in him leaving). I mean obviously (that alleged subplot is) coming out now (that) I’m gone, all these reports are going to come out. I can’t really control it, but I just made a decision based on where I wanted to go, man. It was as simple as that. We can think about all the reasons and the factors and what factored in, but it was simple. That’s where I wanted to play basketball,” Kevin said.

Despite all the criticisms Kevin ended the poignant interview with, “Who’s going to give a (expletive) when I’m 49 years old?

SOURCE: USA Today | IMAGE CREDIT: Getty | VIDEO CREDIT: Twitter

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Kevin Durant Opens Up About Criticism & Current Relationship With Russell Westbrook  was originally published on theurbandaily.com