“Not Much Has Changed With Kevin Durant”: Peyton Manning doesn’t let go of his 2017 ESPYs performance amidst Nets’ star’s drama

On a FaceTime call with Steph Curry, Peyton Manning shares a joke at Kevin Durant’s expense attacking his tendency to jump teams to win easy NBA championships. 

Peyton Manning is one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever lace the cleats up. His long and glorious career ended with him riding off into the sunset after winning Super Bowl 50. After retirement, Manning hosted the 2017 ESPYs.

The ESPYs is an award show that is hosted by ABC network to recognize excellence in sports. This includes personal and team accomplishment. From NBA to hockey to baseball, all sports are appreciated in this awards show.

While hosting the 2017 ESPYs, Manning made a joke aimed at Kevin Durant. He started off by congratulating the US Women’s Gymnastics Team for being so dominant in the 2016 Rio Olympics. He then said, “Our gymnastics team was so dominant that Kevin Durant told me he wants to play for them next year.”

The backstory of this joke was that Kevin Durant infamously switched teams from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the 73-9 Golden State Warriors in the previous offseason. The Thunder blew a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference Finals to the Warriors just before the move. Durant was seen to be a snake by every NBA fan.

Manning’s joke at the ESPYs was not received so well by Durant who was sitting at the ESPYs. The camera panned to a serious Durant.

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After 5 years, Durant’s snake like tendencies have not changed and Peyton Manning is ready to joke about it again.

Fast forward 5 years and we are here in 2022. Steph Curry, the reigning NBA Finals champion and MVP, is ready to host the 2022 ESPYs. In order to get ready for the big show, Curry facetimed Manning for advice. On this call, Manning joked, “When I hosted the ESPYs five years ago, I made a little quip about Kevin Durant wanting to play for a great team that made a lot of headlines. Feel free to use that one because it hasn’t aged a day.”

Steph Curry and the Warriors had a not so smooth split with Kevin Durant after the 2019 NBA Finals when issues between Draymond Green and Durant reached a boiling point. It was also reported that Durant did not feel that it was his team and that he was not a part of the homegrown culture. Durant signed with the Brooklyn Nets in order to make a name for himself.

Fast forward to now and multiple playoff disappointments for Durant coming off a clean 4-0 sweep to the Boston Celtics in the first round, it is reported that Kevin Durant asked for a trade. His preferred teams are the Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns, the #1 seeds in both conferences.

Manning obviously found this to be hilarious and made Durant the butt of his joke once again. However, it is safe to assume that Durant, once again, probably did not find it to be too funny.

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