Having lived in Oklahoma my entire life, I am accustomed to hearing people say there is nothing to do here. 99% of the time, the people saying it are from Oklahoma.
Whether this is true is beside the point, because the implication that Oklahoma City based star Kevin Durant suggested it to be the case has surrounded the controversy-averse star to controversy. As seen in the video above, paparazzi from TMZ accosted the two-time Ogle Madness Champion while he met up in Los Angeles with Oklahoma City native and L.A. Dodger star Matt Kemp. The "reporter" shouted questions at the NBA superstar who ignored him. One question was:
"Hey, yo-yo, Kevin man, what is there to do, tho', in Oklahoma, tho', for fun there, playa?"
Assuming there is no manipulation of the video--Durant is turning away from the camera before he says anything--and the TMZ transcription is fair and accurate, he answered "Nothing."
This has caused the thin-skinned Oklahomans, who are fine in saying there is nothing to do here as long as stays between Oklahomans, to get snippy with KD. He has taken to his Twitter account in an attempt to clarify what was going on:
I dissed Oklahoma cuz I didn't wanna talk to TMZ and all I said nothing?? Ok and y'all forget all the times I scream OKC.. Everywhere..cool
Maybe this could be written off as damage control, except five days earlier, he wrote these two tweets unprompted:
Being in LA makes me love Oklahoma City so much more!!
I love LA but just how quiet n lowkey Oklahoma city is fits me better plus there's no traffic lol
I think we can all agree that Kevin Durant was not making any effort to "diss" Oklahoma City as the TMZ crew attempted to play it off. Even if, worst case scenario, Durant really is disappointed by the lack of entertainment options in the 405, the $84 million he is slated to make while playing here should give him plenty of options to travel in his off-time.
For instance, since the Thunder's season, sadly, ended against the eventual world champions a few weeks ago, Durant has made two trips to large metropolises. The first trip was to his hometown of Washington DC. Here is what he did:
Now, he is obviously hanging out in the glitziest city in the country. Here is how he is spending his time.
Last Summer, he went backpacking across Europe:
The point is this: if there is a basketball goal around, Kevin Durant is happy in that location. It makes no difference what OKC has to offer in the ways of pleasing the ADHD tastes of guys like LeBron James who want to be media moguls and throw extravagant parties in exotic locations, then bristle when someone suggests they work on the craft that made him famous. Our superstar does not look at "nothing" as a diss. It is a complement.
