Kevin Durant addresses social media burner account speculation
· Yahoo Sports
Houston Rockets All-Star forward Kevin Durant deflected questions about a possible social media burner account, though he did not deny the legitimacy of any claims.
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Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Feb. 18 following a practice, Durant was asked about speculation that an account on X, formerly known as Twitter, might belong to Durant. The account handle, @gethigher77, was created in August 2021 and has just 75 followers and is following 75 other users. The account recently went private.
Over the All-Star break, screenshots emerged that showed the account openly criticizing current and former teammates of Durant.
“I know you’ve got to ask these questions, but I’m not here to get into Twitter nonsense,” Durant said. “I’m just here to focus on the season, keep it pushing, but I get why you have to ask those questions.”
When pressed further and asked whether he had addressed the matter with his Rockets teammates, Durant once again deflected.
“My teammates know what it is,” he said. “We’ve been locked in the whole season. We enjoyed our break. We had a great practice today, and we look forward to the road trip.”
The Rockets, who are 33-20 and in a tight race near the top of the Western Conference, are set to go on a two-game trip to Charlotte and New York.
The screenshots from the @gethigher77 account led to speculation over the weekend that the tone and speech patterns were similar to messages Durant has used in the past from his verified accounts.
The images show direct messages sent from the account that seemingly disparage Rockets All-Star center Alperen Şengün and forward Jabari Smith Jr. Those direct messages are in the first person and imply that the Rockets are “this (expletive) ass team.” The messages also use offensive epithets.
“Your franchise player can’t shoot or defend,” one message reads, seemingly alluding to Şengün. “That's a wayyyyyyy bigger issue than my turnovers. Remember, these guys are your future.”
“I can’t trust Jabari to make a (expletive) shot or get a stop,” another message reads, before calling Smith a common epithet against people with a learning disability.
It’s important to stress that there has been no direct evidence tying Durant to the account and that the supposed link is, at this point, merely internet speculation.
Known to be active on his social media channels, particularly when responding to other users or trolls, Durant even said during a 2019 interview with ESPN that he used burner accounts.
“I wasn’t used to that amount of attention from playing basketball,” Durant said then. “I wanted a place where I could talk to my friends without anybody butting in on my conversations or mixing my words or taking everything out of context because I enjoyed that place.”
Previously, in 2017, Durant was seemingly caught using a burner account when a fan addressed his official account and Durant responded by speaking in the third person.
Then, in July 2023, after the launch of Threads, Durant posted a message to Twitter, saying: “On threads with the burner. Come find me.”
During a press conference Saturday, Feb. 14 at All-Star media day, Durant was asked if he was forced to give up X or video games for the rest of his life, which one he would choose.
“Damn,” Durant said then. “I’m going to go Twitter. I’m going to go Twitter, because they don’t deserve to hear this God-level talk I’m giving to them. They take it for granted, cuz.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kevin Durant burner account: Rockets star addresses speculation