Kevin Durant invites Nets teammate Kyrie Irving as first guest on new podcast 'The ETCs'

Kevin Durant, who is turning 32 on September 29, celebrated his birthday by starting his own podcast – The ETCs with Kevin Durant. The Brooklyn Nets star surprised fans by calling his teammate Kyrie Irving as his guest. They both discussed multiple topics during the hour-long conversation, including the process behind them deciding to team up by signing with the Nets.  

Also read | Kevin Durant chose "chill" Brooklyn Nets over becoming the NY Knicks' "saviour"

Kevin Durant birthday kicks off with his new podcast

While Durant is yet to make his debut with the team, this is the first time the two NBA stars have teamed up for a proper interview. Durant and Irving started the podcast by talking about the roots of their friendship, which dates back to the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and their time with the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League in 2011-12. According to Durant, they were both introduced by a common friend called Jeff Rogers, who worked at Nike. 

Their friendship only strengthened with time, where both of them decided to team up last year. They cleared up the mysterious video of their conversation at the Spectrum Center during the All-Star Weekend. “That’s when it was solidified that we were going somewhere,” said Durant. The two-time NBA champion added that while nothing was confirmed yet, they were definitely going somewhere. 

Durant detailed that over time, their friendship grew to a point where they would talk about what would happen outside the game, their families. "It just became easy, you know?" Durant added, while speaking about how they have similar playing styles, which is where it branched off from. Their friendship, as per Durant, was organic. The duo apparently talked every day on FaceTime, discussing shots and having a daily conversation. 

Also read | Kevin Durant refuses to "shut up" after the Knicks fans, media bothered him a whole year

Kyrie Irving also spoke about his bond with the late NBA legend Kobe Bryant, who lost his life this January. He spoke about how, during the London Olympics, he was nervous about talking to Bryant. Back then, a young 20-year-old Irving challenged a 33-year-old to a one-on-one, claiming he could beat the Los Angeles Lakers legend. "I’m going to go straight up like Kobe, man. Like I could beat you one-on-one,” said Irving. 

Kyrie really practiced in the mirror what he was going to say to Kobe 😂 pic.twitter.com/hkqfY9W3ha

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 29, 2020

Irving explained that he went off-script and the Duke Blue Planet captured their exchange. "We never got a chance to play, but after that point, I just studied him a lot more. My respect grew," Irving explained, adding that the only reason did not strap up to play was because he already had some respect for Irving. The 28-year-old also discussed how he feels misrepresented by the media. 

Also read | Nets to use young talent for acquiring third player to partner Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant: Report

Both the stars also discussed their plans with the Nets for the 2020-21 season. Irving said that he wants to bring an NBA title to his family in Brooklyn, after which they can have the "biggest parade ever". While Durant's Achilles injury sidelined him for the whole year, Irving's injury also forced him to sit out the majority of the games. Both Durant and Irving will continue their conversation on The ETCs with Kevin Durant on next Tuesday (Wednesday IST). 

Also read | Brooklyn Nets: How Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving decided to join Nets over Knicks

(Image credits: AP)