Alperen Sengun addresses ‘suddenly formed’ rift with Kevin Durant

The rumor mill surrounding Kevin Durant and Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun has been running since February. It started during All-Star weekend when viral screenshots from an alleged burner account showed the two-time NBA champion trashing his teammates in private messages, including a jab at Sengun's shooting and defense. 

KD previously dismissed those leaks as "Twitter nonsense" and moved on. However, people in the basketball community kept talking. Things went out of hand after Houston's season ended with a first-round playoff loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. 

Now, Sengun is finally confronting the narrative, claiming the perception came out of nowhere. 

Alperen Sengun claims he never argued with Kevin Durant

Speaking on the “Socrates Dergi podcast,” Sengun dismissed the popular narrative that he and Durant have bad blood, confirming the whole story doesn't match reality.

"A perception suddenly formed out of nowhere," Sengun said. "I've never had an argument with KD, not even once. We've never raised our voices at each other. We always talk, and we always talk after games, too. 

He added, “We especially talked after games we lost. Like, 'What are we doing wrong?' I specifically would ask him, 'What do we need to do? Where do you think we made mistakes today? Why didn't it work out?' I ask him, and he answers. These things always happen, but like I said, because we're people who hate losing, you can see that on our faces during games."

The burner posts also criticized Jabari Smith Jr. and referenced former teammates like Devin Booker and Kyrie Irving. This fueled speculation given Durant's social media history dating back to his time with the Golden State Warriors. 

The irony? No screenshots ever proved the account belonged to Durant. Still, people blamed him anyway. Sengun seemed visibly exhausted by these fabricated narratives following their first-round elimination from the playoffs. 

However, whether his blunt response quiets the speculation for good remains to be seen once training camp opens.

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