Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images
Mere minutes after the Golden State Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 5, Nike released a 60 second commercial featuring a relatively new and controversial addition to the championship-winning team, Kevin Durant.
With the instrumental to “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” by the late Wu-Tang Clan member Ol’ Dirty Bastard being played in the background, sports commentators and Twitter trolls are shown sitting around a table, criticizing everything about the newly awarded NBA Finals MVP recipient, from his basketball skills as a member of the Seattle SuperSonics, to his controversial decision to join the same team who beat his Oklahoma City in the playoffs.
In the commercial, aptly entitled ‘Debate This.’,shouting critics are suddenly silenced while watching footage of Durant in his Warriors jersey, celebrating his major NBA Finals win.
In Nike’s announcement of the commercial, the company stated, “Many have questioned Kevin Durant’s tenacity, leadership and winning ways. One thing that can’t be debated: he’s a world champ”.
But some are saying that Nike has gone too far.
Sports columnist for The Washington Post, Dan Steinburg, argues that Nike should have focused on Durant winning his first NBA championship, not the critical blabbermouths who make sports commentary look elementary. “It took us from the very best part about sports to one of the worst: ugly, personal and shallow arguments made for the sake of argument,” writes Steinburg.
When looking at Kevin Durant’s NBA player history, one cannot neglect to mention the numerous hurdles he had to face in order to satisfy critics and fans alike. The commercial shines a much needed light on how the nay-sayers look whenever Durant succeeds in a major way – just plain wrong.
Kevin Durant has had a very successful season and it’s clear that the haters will not get in his way.
Either way, ladies everywhere received a GREAT meme out of the ordeal:
TELL US: Do you believe that the Kevin Durant Nike commercial is appropriate?
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