Kevin Durant is an absolute hoops junkie. His success on the court comes from his undying love for basketball. It’s this love that also often pushes him to his infamous X arguments. While one can argue it’s just Durant hating criticism, there is no denying it also emerges from his willingness to discuss basketball with any and everyone. What makes KD’s affection for the sport even purer is that he doesn’t really care for the packaging, he loves it in all its forms.
Advertisement
In fact, when he was a member of the Brooklyn Nets, he would regularly attend New York Liberty games in their shared Barclays Center. Interestingly, KD is also the key reason the Liberty were able to sign Breanna Stewart in free agency, leading to a championship last year.
Stewart isn’t the only player KD has a personal relationship with. The former MVP has a close friendship with Brittany Griner that pre-dates his arrival in Phoenix. When she left to join the Atlanta Dream, Durant shared his thoughts and vowed to support her at a game.
Kevin has also been a vocal supporter and mediator of both Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. He called Reese his favorite women’s player, and praised Clark’s dynamic play. He has been a loud proponent of the WNBA, highlighting their rivalry while simultaneously protecting its players.
When asked about his experience watching games in 2021, Durant said, “Once people build up the love for the game, they’ll understand a little bit more. They love that we [in the NBA] are athletic, and we can get over the top of the rim and excite people with our athleticism… but if you really lock in and enjoy the skill and fundamentals of the game, it’s [the WNBA] even better to watch.”
Still, for some fans, this wasn’t enough, and they accused KD of being a fake fan and unsupportive of the WNBA. Despite the mounds of evidence against this, Eddie Gonzalez, a friend of Durant, had to come out to defend the superstar.
This whole conversation started as Kevin attended a game for the newly founded Golden State Valkyries, in part to see a player who has dedicated her career to him. Julie Vanloo was selected by the Valkyries as part of an expansion draft in December after an up-and-down rookie year, and wears the number 35 in honor of Durant, her favorite player. In fact, Vanloo calls herself a super-fan.
The Valkyries won over the Sparks, and Durant and Vanloo connected in a wholesome moment that so clearly meant a lot to the Belgian point guard. It was the second time the two had publicly connected, after the Olympic ceremonies gave the chance for the two to meet.
Durant’s fan posted the meeting on X and took a sarcastic dig at critics questioning KD’s support for the WNBA. Eddie, mistaking it for criticism, claimed no one ever questioned Durant’s love for the league. Eddie, on X, wrote, “Nobody ever said this brother lol.”
Nobody ever said this brother lol https://t.co/Crtk0FKUcm
— Eddie Gonzalez (@bansky) May 24, 2025
Gonzalez is Durant’s cohost on “The ETCs” on the Boardroom network and a top confidant. While Kevin has proven more than willing to come out on Twitter and speak for himself, Gonzalez stated the obvious on his behalf. Funny enough, their relationship started when Durant found Gonzalez on social media and liked the latter’s approach.
Durant has been a die-hard supporter of the WNBA and absolutely loves basketball in all its iterations. While there’s certainly an argument to be made that stars and big names in the NBA should spend more time supporting their counterparts in the W, KD is not the name that should come up in that regard.
