Collin Gillespie puzzled by outside perception of Kevin Durant as a teammate
It’s been no surprise to hear so much outside chatter about a potentially “toxic” locker room given how the Phoenix Suns have underperformed this season, but when it comes to noise surrounding Kevin Durant’s reputation as a teammate, two-way guard Collin Gillespie tells Arizona Sports it’s just that: noise.
“It’s always crazy to me when when you see stuff on social media about people saying stuff about (Durant) being a (bad) teammate because he’s one of the best teammates I’ve ever had,” Gillespie told Burns & Gambo on Wednesday. “I think he’s an advocate for everybody in the locker room. He believes in everybody in that locker room.
“He’s always cheering his teammates on and giving us a ton of confidence, telling us to shoot the ball and be aggressive because that’s only going to help him. It’s going to help him get more open and get him easier looks. So he instills confidence in everybody.”
The 25-year-old said Durant was among his favorite players growing up, so it’s “surreal” to share the court with him in those spots and have the star in his corner.
Gillespie scored all 10 of his points on Tuesday in the fourth quarter, when Durant scored 19 of his 34 on the night to help the Suns complete the largest fourth-quarter comeback in franchise history.
“I always love how Collin is always poised and he’s a dog, he cares,” Durant told reporters after the comeback win. “He was one of the loudest in the locker room after last game, and he didn’t even contribute a minute to that disaster. … He came out and was pissed off.
