Watch: Kevin Durant exchanges words with a courtside fan after being told to "stop crying," gets fined $25,000 by the NBA for 'directing obscene language' toward the fan

Spirited exchanges with fans are always welcome in the NBA, but when it dabbles in vulgar language, like in the case of Kevin Durant on Friday night, it is frowned upon by the league.

In the Brooklyn Nets' last outing against the Atlanta Hawks, Kevin Durant was filmed exchanging words with a fan as James Harden inbounded the ball. The fan said "stop crying" and KD was not happy with his comments.

In response, Kevin Durant said:

"Shut your a** up motherf***er."

It was all fun and games for the fan, who was looking to get under Durant's skin and mess with his rhythm. Given how experienced Kevin Durant is, he has developed a thick skin to these things and continues to produce despite heckling from fans. Unfortunately, he lost his cool this time and has been fined for using "obscene language" to communicate with a fan.

Excerpts from the official memo from the NBA read:

"Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant has been fined $25,000 for directing obscene language toward a fan, it was announced today by Byron Spruell, President, League Operations."

Despite the quick exchange with the fan sitting courtside, Kevin Durant registered 31 points at the State Farm Arena and was engaged in a scuffle with Hawks guard Trae Young. However, both players have chucked it under being competitive and are not nurturing malice.

The Nets won the game 113-105 following an inspiring outing from Kevin Durant on both ends of the floor. It was the second win against the Hawks this season, with one more win guaranteeing a series sweep.

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Kevin Durant has a long history of responding to fans

Kevin Durant #7 of the Brooklyn Nets

Anyone who knows Kevin Durant is fully aware that he does not back away from an opportunity to say his piece when fans come for him. KD has previously been accused of operating a burner Twitter account to respond to fans without anyone tracing it back to him.

More recently, Kevin has been really into it following wide-scale trolling on social media. An image showing his shoes was uploaded, but Isaiah Thomas spotted his ashy ankles and brought it to the notice of many.

From then on, Twitter trolls took over and kept at it for days, forcing a reply from Kevin Durant. He started with the "I'm rich" line, but that only added fuel to the fire.

Another fan pointed out his language, stating that several kids look up to him, and he responded with the famous "I am not a role model" line.

Despite all the distractions off the court, it has not negatively impacted Kevin Durant's game. He has continued to deliver jaw-dropping performances on the floor, leading the Nets to wins every other night.

Kevin Durant leads the league in scoring, averaging 28.5 points per game, and is one of the top contenders for the 2022 MVP award. The Nets being the top seed right now in the Eastern Conference standings is majorly a result of his contributions.

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