“The word I would use… is toxic.” That was ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne earlier this year, describing the state of the Phoenix Suns’ locker room. It was a bombshell quote that confirmed what many had suspected: something was deeply wrong in the desert. The team with the league’s most expensive “Big 3” wasn’t just losing games; they were losing the plot. The atmosphere was described as “awkward” and “weird,” a pressure cooker of trade rumors, bruised egos, and unmet expectations. That one word—”toxic”—hung over the franchise for months, the perfect kindling for a fire.
And this week, some more fuel was added to that fire. The Suns’ disastrous 36-46 season, which saw them miss the playoffs entirely, was already a massive failure. But the on-court disappointment was apparently just the tip of the iceberg. Whispers of internal conflict had been floating around all year, and now, with a public back-and-forth between DeMarcus Cousins and Kevin Durant, the speculation has been thrown into overdrive.
What went down between DeMarcus Cousins and Kevin Durant
The whole thing started when former NBA All-Star DeMarcus “Boogie” Cousins went on FanDuel TV‘s ‘Run It Back’ and dropped a casual bomb. While defending Kevin Durant from blame for the Suns’ failures, Cousins revealed he had some inside information. “I’ve definitely heard of some negative things in the locker room,” he said. “There was a couple of fistfights. There was a lot going on that obviously carries over to the court.”
The internet, as it does, ran with it. An aggregator account, NBA Central, tweeted out the claim, and it didn’t take long for it to find its way to the timeline of one of the NBA’s most online superstars. Kevin Durant, never one to let a rumor slide, came out firing. “I have to contest this 94 footer,” Durant wrote, reposting the claim. “This some b——- to throw on us. Yea yea yea we were trash this year ha ha ha but we NEVER got close to this. NEVER”
The plot thickened when Cousins, seeing Durant’s rebuttal, decided to drop another bombshell and reveal his sourcing: “The source was one of your teammates killa,” Cousins shot back. “And I wasn’t referring to you! Save this s— for the others homie…” Faced with a direct challenge, Durant quickly tried to de-escalate, while still standing his ground.
“Whoa whoa Boog, I don’t want no problems with you or anybody on earth,” he replied. “I Promise, all I’m saying is your source is lying.”
Whoa whoa Boog, I don’t want no problems with you or anybody on earth. I
Promise, all I’m saying is your source is lying. https://t.co/tvSWexCtCb
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) June 20, 2025
(This is a developing story…)
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