Did Kevin Durant Call Out Nike For Olympic Ad Snub? The Internet Reacts

Nike unveiled an Olympic-themed ad earlier today, narrated by Willem Dafoe, and featuring sponsored athletes such as LeBron James, Serena Williams, and Sha’Carri Richardson. It uses intense visuals to showcase the dedication and sacrifice athletes must have to reach elite status, with a tagline of “Winning Isn’t for Everyone” which questions if the qualities it takes to reach that level makes one a bad person.

While Kevin Durant wasn’t among the athletes in the spot, he seemingly included himself in the conversation on his Instagram stories, tagging Nike and saying “@nike tell me, Am I a bad person?????” He followed that up with photos of the 2012, 2016, and 2021 Olympic teams with captions saying “Been wit yall every step of the way @nike” and “Even during the quarantine Olympics @nike.”

Those posts are being interpreted by fans as Durant feeling slighted for not being included in the campaign, with many sharing their support. KD signed a lifetime contract with Nike in 2023, and has been with the brand since his rookie year in 2007. He’s currently on his 17th Nike signature sneaker model, and also the Team USA men’s basketball all-time points leader. He was also featured earlier today in Kith's campaign for its USA Basketball collection.

It’s worth noting that LeBron is the only active member of Team USA to be featured in the ad, and that signature athletes such as Jayson Tatum and Devin Booker are also not included.

Scroll on to see what the internet is saying about the posts.