Donnell Rawlings built his comedic reputation through frequent appearances on ‘Chappelle’s Show’ but he gained infamy in 2010 for nabbing a steal against Kevin Durant. The 56-year-old was the latest guest on Shannon Sharpe’s podcast and he made sure to remind the world of his viral moment against moment against KD.
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His highlight reel moment came during Big Tigger’s Celebrity Classic Game in 2010. Along with Durant, NBA legends like Caron Butler were also part of the lineup for the charity game.
“Kevin Durant bringing the ball up right?… So, he tried to dribble the ball between my legs. I don’t know what happened, I stole the ball, right? Man, I didn’t know what to do with that… I picked Kevin Durant’s pocket. And I’m going down the court and I was like, if I try to go all the way to the basket, Imma double dribble, something stupid. So I pulled up at the three,” Rawlings shared on ‘Club Shay Shay’.
Of course, the comedian known for portraying ‘Ashy Larry’ inevitably embellished his story but as they say — to the victor go the spoils.
“Let me tell the story. So I’m like this, I did behind the back. Flip it again, between the legs. He [Durant] coming, pushed him out of the way, took the ball, I pulled up. But when I pulled up, I pulled up in slow motion ’cause I wanted the moment to be forever,” Rawlings told Sharpe.
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The comedian’s version of events doesn’t exactly line up with the video footage but the bare truth is that he did convert a five-point swing against a soon-to-be league MVP. Rawlings stole the ball from Durant at half-court before calmly pulling up from three and swishing it in.
As he should, the veteran actor has milked the story for all it’s got. He previously recounted the events to TMZ, revealing that he even discussed it with KD a few years later during the 2017 All-Star Weekend in New Orleans.
“Kevin Durant’s coming out of Dave Chappelle’s locker room, he see me, he looks fearful… I roll up to him like, ‘Yo, you remember when I picked your pocket and pulled up for a three-pointer and hit all net?’”
“Kevin Durant looked at me and said, ‘Aw man, that was like 7 years ago.’ So the fact that Kevin Durant remembers the Ashy one pulling up for a three-pointer off of the steal, I’m winning. I’m the Black History Month athlete of the century,” Rawlings added.
Moments like these were the real attraction at these celebrity classic games. The tradition has died down quite a bit over the past decade but given the chance, KD would likely be up for a rematch against ‘Ashy Larry’. And we would certainly love to see it.
