Any professional athlete can relate to heckling audience members during games; playing through it is part of the job. But what happens when one of those hecklers is one of the biggest pop stars in the world?
Kevin Durant may have stared down a courtside-seated Rihanna multiple times during Game 1 of the NBA Finals, which saw the Golden State Warriors defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 113-91.
Rihanna allegedly yelled “brick” while Durant was shooting a free throw, and Durant appeared to glare at her while running to the other end of the court. And later in the game, after Durant nailed a 3-point shot, he stared in her direction again.
When Durant was asked about the tension with Rihanna after the game, he simply said “I don’t even remember that.” When the reporter said that it was a topic on social media, teammate Steph Curry warned him, “don’t get in that trap.” Durant laughed and agreed: “Yeah, I don’t want to get into that. I’m cool. Have fun with that.”
Clearly RiRi didn’t bother Durant too much: the 2014 MVP finished the game leading all scorers with 38 points, along with eight rebounds and eight assists.
Rihanna, meanwhile, was expectedly rooting for her favs: she has sat courtside at many of LeBron James games, especially when he played for the Miami Heat, and has repeatedly shown her support of the King on social media. She even namedropped him on “Bitch Better Have My Money,” singing “ballin’ bigger than LeBron.” With fun jeers like “brick” from the sidelines, she’s doing what many fans would say if they could sit that close.
Game 2 of the NBA Finals is on Sunday, June 4.