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Sorry Kevin Durant, Mat Ishbia wasn’t taking a shot at you

A social media spat erupted between Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia and former star Kevin Durant after Durant misinterpreted comments Ishbia made during a CNBC interview. Durant took to X (formerly Twitter) to criticize Ishbia, suggesting the owner was indirectly blaming him for the team’s struggles during his tenure.

The Suns owner swiftly responded, clarifying that his remarks were not directed at Durant but rather a reflection on his early missteps in shaping the team’s culture—specifically, failing to define the right environment for stars to thrive. Ishbia’s comments, taken out of context by an NBA media aggregator, were actually about his own decisions as owner, not Durant’s performance or the team’s recent seasons.

The exchange highlighted the challenges of building a championship culture in today’s NBA, with Ishbia acknowledging past errors while emphasizing the progress made under his current leadership. Durant, who has largely avoided public debates since rejoining the league with the Houston Rockets, doubled down on his usual approach by engaging with threads instead of addressing the issue head-on.

The back-and-forth underscored the sensitivity around Durant’s legacy in Phoenix, where his arrival as a free agent was one of Ishbia’s first major moves as owner.

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