Who Would Durant Like To Have As a Teammate, Past and Present Players Included?

Funny, I hadn't thought of Durant as someone who held trash talking in such high esteem.

Sam

" He was the toughest guy I’ve ever watched.”

Durant's got that right.

Trash talking.  There's trash talking and then there's trash talking.

Bill Russell said that he'd trash talk lesser players but wouldn't try it with guys like Robertson, West, Baylor and Chamberlain.

Not so with Sam Jones.  According to Russell, Jones loved to torment Wilt.  Russell and Jones would run a pick and roll and Sam Jones would stand out there and yell out in a high falsetto voice like a mother scolding a son, "You better come on out here Wilt Chamberlain"  Wilt hated to show on pick and rolls and as soon as he took a step to show, Jones would launch a bank shot while yelling, "Too late! Too late!" as it swished through the net.

KC Jones, as quiet as he was, would also get in on the act.  As the teams were going to their benches between quarters or for time-outs KC would run by Wilt and  step on his feet.  KC knew that Wilt wasn't quick enough to retaliate.

All of these anecdotes are from Russell's book "Second Wind, The Memoirs of an Opinionated Man."

Bill Bradly said that Russell could be very subtle in how he broke an opponent's concentration.  Dollar Bill relates how one time he had made three straight jumpers and had been fouled on the last. He was in a real groove and thought he was going to have a great game.

As the teams lined up on the foul lane, Russell yelled at Satch Sanders, "C'mon Satch, you got to cover him."  Russ then caught Bradly's eye and nodded.  Bradly said that for some reason Russell's nod distracted him and he wasn't nearly as effective after that.

Michael Cooper said that Bird was real cute with his trash talk.  Bird would tell Cooper how he was going to shoot it in his face, then fake the shot, pass it to McHale who'd toss in a hook shot.  Then as they ran up court, Bird would say, "Ha, ha, ha, fooled you again."

Anything to keep your opponents off balance.