At 37, it’s weird to say that Kevin Durant is in the headlines for his alleged social media interactions. Over the years, the Houston Rockets veteran has gotten a reputation for going after fans, especially naysayers on X. However, screenshots of a burner account making damning comments about several NBA stars, including Devin Booker and Jabari Smith Jr., surfaced. The list extended to Stephen Curry as well. It was a major topic of discussion on Sunday and has now reached LeBron James’ super agent.

Max Kellerman and his co-host on the podcast both agree that there is no proof of these allegations. However, the CEO of Klutch Sports Group came to Durant and the NBA players’ defense.

“I don’t know that to be true, but what I do know is these guys always have to be ‘on,’ they never get an opportunity to be themselves in terms of what people want them to be, so I don’t know,” Paul said on Game Over.

Paul seems to have a point here. Modern-day players are bombarded with criticism, complaints, and suggestions nightly. Online harassment by fans over failed parlays and bets is also another sad reality. While the players do need an outlet to vent, these burner accounts are definitely not the way to do it.

“Like people say, ‘Oh, this is Kevin Durant’s Burner account,’” Kellerman said. “Why? Because someone claims that they were in a chat with Kevin Durant and they saw the same avatars, I don’t know, but it doesn’t sound like they have anything concrete. However, the question is, ‘Does it sound credible to people?'”

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Durant has mentioned owning multiple anonymous social media accounts in the past. Back in 2019, he admitted he needed a place to talk to his friends without “anybody just butting in my conversations.” Years later, in 2023, he poked fun at the fanbase with an open challenge.

“On threads with a burner,” Durant tweeted. “Come find me.”

Hence, it didn’t take long for fans to connect the dots when leaked private screenshots of chats belittling Stephen Curry, Steve Kerr, Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr., Devin Booker, Russell Westbrook, and more surfaced online. Durant was also busy with his phone right before Sunday’s All-Star Game festivities, and many concluded that the look on his face said it all. However, the veteran hasn’t spoken about it, and there’s nothing to confirm the allegations either.

Durant’s alleged burner case is not the first instance of this happening in the NBA.

NBA burner account legacy rumors ft. Eric Lewis and Bryan Colangelo

Long before the latest Kevin Durant saga, the NBA had two other instances of alleged burner account use. One involved the General Manager of a franchise, and the other involved a veteran NBA referee.

Back in 2018, former Philadelphia 76ers GM Bryan Colangelo was investigated by an outside law firm for alleged links to several Twitter accounts that were criticizing players Joel Embiid, Markelle Fultz, and Jahlil Okafor.

The investigation concluded that these accounts were linked to Colangelo’s wife, Barbara Bottini. He soon resigned after these reports came to light, but continued to deny his involvement in the scandal.

The issue involving an NBA referee is linked to Eric Lewis. He was a veteran ref with 1,098 regular-season games and 82 playoff games under his belt before the 2022-23 season. Lewis was accused of operating a burner account to react to fans and comment on officiating in the league, which violates regulations.

The league opened an investigation into his alleged social media activity. However, after 19 seasons officiating in the league, Lewis announced his retirement on August 30, 2023. Swiftly after, the league also announced that it would not continue the investigation following his retirement. However, he was reinstated into the officiating program in 2025.

With everything on Adam Silver and the league’s plate right now with tanking issues, the last thing that they need is another controversy to deal with. Fans will hope that these rumors quickly fade away without doing too much damage as we approach the postseason.