As the Phoenix Suns trailed the Los Angeles Clippers by over 20 points on Tuesday night, the fans booed their team at home. The Suns were outscored by 22 points in the second quarter and trailed by 16 points at halftime.
Though the Suns managed to come back in the second half and win 119–117, superstar Kevin Durant took a strong stance on why he doesn't understand the boos from the crowd.
"I always wonder what booing is gonna do for your team," Durant told the media after the game. "It actually makes no sense. If you really wanted to make your voice be heard, then get up and leave, and we'll feel that more than you booing. We need energy, when we down 20 we need you all to get a bit louder in there and cheer a little louder. That was my thing when I started talking to the crowd. Yeah, booing has been part of sports culture for the last 50-60 years, but I think it's been about time we put that up. Just get up and leave if you don't feel like watching this team play bad basketball and we will understand and that will make us feel even worse."
Durant did also make sure to compliment the Suns' fans, indicating his criticism was aimed at booing, and not necessarily the fans themselves.
Gem of an answer from Kevin Durant to @KellanOlson's question about his relationship with the fans in Phoenix.
— Nick King (@NickKingSports) March 5, 2025
Says the team needs energy from the crowd and that booing is "some 1960s/70s💩" and it'd be more effective of a message sent if people just left games instead of booing pic.twitter.com/GC6CVx7ZCR
"How loud they get on a good night is second to none," Durant added. "I want to ignite that as much as possible. ... It's nothing but love with this fan base. They always supporting and always show up."
Durant and the Suns will now head leave the home crowd on a four-game road trip before returning to the PHX Arena in nine days for a home game against the Sacramento Kings.
More NBA on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Kevin Durant Had Critical Message to Fans Booing Suns During Games.
