NEW ORLEANS -- Soaked in sweat, Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant's yells echoed throughout an empty Smoothie King Center, home of the New Orleans Pelicans.
"They say I ain't hungry!"
"I'm out here!"
Durant was working to bounce back from his team's 29-point loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night. The former MVP stayed late after practice Thursday in preparation for Friday night's game against the Pelicans, shooting between one-on-one drills with Warriors assistant coach Chris DeMarco.
Shooting his last shots, Durant said, "They told me I ain't have no drive! I'm out here. They called me a coward! Putting in work."
When asked after his session about shouting criticisms, Durant explained, "That's what I say to myself when I'm working. I hear it all the time. You hear the noise. You hear what they say about you. Everybody hears it. So it's a little extra motivation when you hear it."
Of the scene, Durant said, "Nobody in this arena right now, and that's when you get better. Nobody sees you when you're doing this stuff right here, but luckily y'all was in here watching."
When asked where he finds the criticisms he uses as a motivational tool, Durant conveyed that he doesn't necessarily seek them out.
"It's not that I read it -- it's just in the air," he said. "You know it's just in the atmosphere and people tell you and you hear about it. You guys ask me questions about it all the time, so obviously I know, but I'm not losing sleep on it. It's just wood on that fire."
On the media response to Golden State's big debut loss, Durant said, "Obviously you hear everything. Season's over, the team is worst team in the league, you thought it was going to be easy. It's one game. I thought, after losing in the playoffs by 30 or beating someone by 30 in Game 1 of the playoffs and you say it's only one game."
Durant's closing statement, said with laughter as he left: "It's one game of 82 and you f---ing guys make me feel like the world's going to end."
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