Looking back, it did seem a little fishy.
As host Peyton Manning cracked a “superteam” joke about Kevin Durant at the 2017 ESPY Awards on Wednesday night, ABC’s cameras immediately flashed to the Golden State Warriors forward, who glared back at Manning in complete non-amusement.
It was the perfect reaction: Durant clearly isn’t a fan of the haters who bashed him for joining the Warriors, and it appeared he was adding Manning to that list.
But perhaps it was too perfect? According to ESPN.com’s Chris Haynes, Durant’s reaction was, in fact, completely staged.
We’ve got to hand it to KD — this was some pretty decent acting on his part. The whole bit still is pretty funny, although it definitely loses some of its luster if Durant was just playing up faux displeasure for the camera.
Haynes doesn’t mention whether Durant’s former teammate, Russell Westbrook, also was in on the gig. But at the very least, it’s likely Manning and/or the ESPYs directors ran this joke by both players before taking it onstage.
Thumbnail photo via Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports Images
