Kevin Durant has been coming for people’s throats on Twitter ever since his season ended, and Wednesday was no exception. This time, Fox Sports’s Colin Cowherd felt Durant’s wrath when an old take of his re-surfaced on the legendary Freezing Cold Takes Twitter account.
In the video clip, Cowherd can be heard bashing Durant ahead of the 2007 NBA draft, specifically because of his reported bench press. Cowherd also said Greg Oden would be a far better player. Oden hasn’t played in the NBA since 2014.
“Can I take a victory lap or I gotta wait until I retire?” Durant said in a tweet.
In the soundbite, Cowherd cited the Oregonian for reporting that Durant, at the time, was the only player in the pre-draft camp that was unable to bench press 185 pounds.
“He’s got Antonio McDyess written all over him,” Cowherd said. “He’ll be another good player but just another wing guy. Or I can get a guy who literally has got the most freakish physical attributes ever for an NBA big man.”
McDyess was taken with the No. 2 pick in the 1995 NBA draft but only appeared in one All-Star game over his 15-year career. Cowherd added that 185 pounds is “a curl for me” and “it barely gets a swole on for me.”
“Can’t bench 185? Kevin, does your girlfriend play?” he said.
Obviously, Cowherd’s concern over Durant’s upper-body strength and his infatuation with Oden’s workout couldn’t have been more wrong. Durant was named one of the top 75 players in NBA history this past season, while Oden struggled largely due to injuries and played in only 105 NBA games.
“It’s not even close,” Cowherd said when comparing Oden’s workout numbers to Durant’s. “The big guy [Oden] has a much better body and is faster and quicker and more agile than the wing guy [Durant]? Draft over. Portland’s taking Greg Oden.”
The Trail Blazers did end up selecting Oden with the No. 1 pick, and the Thunder selected Durant at No. 2. He was right about one thing. It wasn’t even close.
