“Kevin Durant at the End of Every NBA Season”: Jennifer Lawrence’s Reaction at Golden Globes Leads NBA Twitter to Draw Comparison to Suns’ Star

Amidst the usual Hollywood fanfare, the Golden Globe Awards were held on January 7. But why did Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant started to appear in memes about the Awards ceremony? How did fans connect Jennifer Lawrence and KD? In another intriguing internet lore, NBA fans once again showcased their unrelenting drive to troll the two-time NBA champion. 

In this year’s Golden Globes, popular actress Jennifer Lawrence was nominated for Best female actor in a film – musical or comedy. She had earned the nomination courtesy of her performance in Gene Stupnitsky-directed rom-com No Hard Feelings. As the camera panned on the actress alongside her nomination card during the award ceremony, she appeared to mutter the words, “If I don’t win, I’m leaving.”

Of course, users on X(formerly Twitter) were bound to have a field day with these words. Many NBA fans and critics have accused Durant over the years of bailing out of a squad when the going gets tough. Therefore, NBA Twitter decided to tie the actress’ words to how KD changes teams after almost every failed campaign. The reactions that the meme generated were hilarious.

A fan pointed out how KD could have said a similar thing at the expiration of the season:

Another X user noted:

One huge reason why many NBA fans tend to troll KD more than anyone is that compared to any other NBA athlete, there is a substantial likelihood of the Suns star responding to these comments. Durant has shared an uncomfortable relationship with fans since he left the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Warriors. He hasn’t shied away from giving them an earful, which has often led to nasty back-and-forths. 

The reason why the meme gained so much traction is because some recent reports had revealed that Kevin Durant was supposedly dissatisfied with the way things have turned out for the Suns. Therefore, he might demand a trade sometime soon. With Bradley Beal sidelined due to injury, the Suns were really struggling with Devin Booker and KD leading the team.

However, now that Beal is back, the Suns still seem to be far away from meeting the expectations they had on them before the season. The Desert team has lost three of their last four games and are currently ninth in the West. It is not entirely unreasonable to expect a KD trade demand provided the Suns star’s history.

Kevin Durant has been in a bind for the last five years

The trail of joining Superteams began when then Oklahoma City Forward lost the 2016 WCF in 7 games after leading 3-1 against the Golden State Warriors. He had the services of Russell Westbrook, a prime Serge Ibaka, and a rising Steven Adams. However, KD left for the loaded Warriors, a team that had registered a 73-9 win record in the preceding season.

KD won 2 championships with the Warriors, winning the Finals MVP on both occasions. However, he suffered an Achilles injury during the 2019 Finals against the Raptors and couldn’t three-peat. Surprisingly, during the 2019 offseason, he announced his move to the Brooklyn Nets but missed the following season due to injury again. 

In the middle of the 2020-21 season, the Nets were joined by yet another superstar, James Harden. But this experiment failed miserably. Injuries, off-court issues, and questionable coaching ensured that KD never made it past the Eastern Conference Semis. After that, he once again returned to the Western Conference and went to yet another Superteam, the Phoenix Suns. Therefore, fans keep reminding the 2x Finals MVP of his tendency to jump ship at the moment of peril.