Kevin Durant on fans who believe the EuroLeague is harder than NBA: ‘Y’all are insane’

In the past, many international stars that come from abroad have shared their views on how difficult it is to score in the EuroLeague compared to the NBA. The latest to express his opinion was veteran Kyle Hines, who in a recent interview with BasketNews, he discussed how both competitions fare against one another. 

“When I was 22, my worldview of basketball was so ‘it’s just the NBA.’ Now, at 37, I’ve had the chance to get a full perspective. I’d say the NBA is checkers, and Europe is chess,” he started out.

Following his remarks, fans on social media caught fire in a heated debate as Legion Hoops, a popular basketball account, reposted the comments.

Pheonix Suns star Kevin Durant Fires Back at Fan: 'Y'all are Insane' for Claiming EuroLeague is Harder than the NBAhttps://t.co/cOXwj4xt4y

— NBArepublic.com (@nba_republic) September 23, 2023

“NBA easy… EuroLeague hard. Everybody says the same. Joel Embiid can’t average 30 in the EuroLeague,” one fan posted on the comments, which came across NBA superstar Kevin Durant, who wasn’t having any of it.

The Phoenix Suns foward showed his clear disagreement with a blunt message. “F**k outta here lmao. Y’all are insane,” he wrote. After his comments, a discussion between both of them unravelled as the fan tried his best to prove his point.

The debate over whether basketball practiced in the United States isn’t necessarily the best in the world started last month when olympic sprinter Noah Lyles expressed his take on the huge distinction between winning a domestic tournament and actually competing internationally.

“I have to watch the NBA Finals and they have world champion on their head. World champion of what? The United States? Don’t get me wrong. I love the U.S. at times, but that ain’t the world. That is not the world,” he said with a laugh.

As several NBA stars ganged up against him, weeks later Giannis Antetokounmpo appeared on an interview and approved Lyles’ comments.

“I wanted to back him up so bad. He received so much backlash for saying the obvious,” the Greek international said last week on the 48 Minutes podcast with former Bucks assistant coach Ross Geiger. “But I think some people don’t understand it. I think it’s — I don’t know, maybe it’s like — sorry, how can I say this politely? Maybe it’s just like an arrogance thing, you know? I don’t think in any other sport you are called the world champions.”

Last season Slovenian star Luka Doncic explained why he believes it’s harder to score in Europe than in the NBA

Not too long ago, at the start of the year, point guard Luka Doncic referred to the topic of scoring being harder in Europe. The Slovenian international explained why it’s easier to collect big numbers in the NBA.

“Basketball in EuroLeague it’s more team basketball, it’s more tactics, and you have less time. NBA is tougher to play because you have many players that are basically impossible to guard”, he said. “But I would say that scoring is easier in the NBA just because of the different rules, the amount of space, the time, so that’s why I said it’s easier to score in the NBA.”

The Dallas superstar, who last season produced averages of 32.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 8 assists, believes the real reason why it’s harder is due to the NBA rule book.

“Scoring 30 points in a Euroleague game, it’s harder than in an NBA game, 100% percent. I’m just saying this because of the rules,” Doncic added.