Jayden Moore was initially happy when he and his teammates found out that Kevin Durant had retweeted a video of Moore attempting a flashy move on the basketball court.
That happiness quickly turned sour when they found out Durant, the 11-time NBA All-Star, tweeted about the move, “This (expletive) stinks.’’
Someone pointed out that Durant’s commentary was a bit harsh for a youngster, but Kevin Durant stuck to what he said.
The 13-year-old point guard said he was hurt and confused by Durant’s comment.
“Like, what made him take time out of his day to say something negative instead of encouraging me or telling what really needs to be done and then texting me privately or something like that,’’ Moore said, via USA Today.
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Moore’s mother, Valeta, has told her son not to take it all personally, but also added, “I was going to (tweet), ‘Why’s KD being so mean? It’s the week of Christmas.’’
Moore did end up Tweeting back the following at KD:
The move in the video shows Moore dribbling between his legs, wrapping the ball around his back, spins and launches a 3-pointer.
Isaiah Thomas, a two-time All-Star currently playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, tweeted, “horrible basketball!!! Smh,’’ And Austin Daye, who won an NBA championship ring in 2014 with the San Antonio Spurs, tweeted, “This is just Bad Hoops Period.’’
Ken Novak, the head coach at Hopkins, was shocked to find out so many NBA players thought so negatively about the play.
“There’s almost an immaturity with them to take the time to even go on Twitter and look at that (video) and comment,’’ Novak told USA TODAY Sports. “In fairness to them, I’m sure they’re trying to create what they see as better basketball, people sharing. And maybe they’re making a comment trying to say that. But they just got to realize who they’re saying it to.’’
As it turns out, Moore’s father, Paul, was the one who set things in motion when he bet his son $10 that he could not pull off the move without getting called for a travel. The refs did not call it and Paul owed his son $10.
“He’s a very good kid,’’ said Novak, Hopkins’ coach. “He’s a pass-first guy. He’s not a score-first person. What he’s very good at is his vision.
“Does he love to have flash to him? Yeah, so did I. I just wasn’t as good. Did I try the behind-the-back moves in the ’70s when no one else was doing them? Yeah. And I thought it was cool. But no one was critiquing me.’’
During that game, Moore scored 12 points in his team’s 71-54 victory over North Community.
