Kevin Durant returned from a calf injury and helped Team USA to victory against Serbia (110-84). Although the Suns star started the game on the bench, coach Steve Kerr quickly brought him in after seeing his initial lineup failing. KD dropped 23 points while shooting eight of nine from the field and five of five from the three-point line. While he was busy on the court trying to win the game for his team, the star of the show, KD was targeted by the Serbian side, especially by Vasilije Micić.
Advertisement
Reacting to Micić’s mid-court body block on KD, Skip Bayless said it was misjudged as it qualifies as a foul. The media veteran, in his assessment of the decision, took to X and expressed,
“Micic just threw a body block on KD, just to see how his calf held up when he was knocked off balance at full speed. Should’ve been a flagrant. Ruled common..”
Micic just threw a body block on KD, just to see how his calf held up when he was knocked off balance at full speed. Should've been a flagrant. Ruled common.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) July 28, 2024
However, after being hit by Micić, KD immediately got up and did the shoulder shrug that’s synonymous with LeBron James in the league. Interestingly, this isn’t the first time the two athletes have taken their battle a little further.
During a game against the Suns last season, Micić had sent KD to the floor. When he was later asked about it, he said, “It looks like it was a push but it was not a push-off. I think he wanted to take a charge and he expected me to push him. He was so lazy that game, I don’t think he took us so serious because he’s KD, he’s one of the best ever.”
Vasilije Micic explains how he got Kevin Durant down on the floor 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/28HbzS3HCj
— BasketNews (@BasketNews_com) June 5, 2024
It seems like this could be a new rivalry building up in the league. We will have to wait to see if KD will ever take charge at Micić. As of now, he is the hero for Team USA and is being hailed by Skip Bayless too.
Skip Bayless picks Kevin Durant over LeBron James
Despite being a veteran in the sports media business, Bayless is known for his infamous takes on King James. Often referred to as the ‘LeBron hater’ there’s nothing that Bayless won’t say just to make his point against LBJ. During the last game against Serbia when KD was dominating the first half with 21 points, Bayless took to X to tell his followers that he would choose KD over LeBron in big games in a heartbeat.
He wrote, “In big games, I’ll take KD over LeBron every time.” It was understandable that he was so impressed by KD and his perfect shooting in the first half. However, Bayless couldn’t control himself from bringing LeBron into this equation only to take a few shots of his own at the 39-year-old’s expense.
