Durant stays late after practice, yells at himself to stay 'hungry'

Kevin Durant called the Golden State Warriors' opening-night embarrassment at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs a "slap in the face," and as the Warriors look ahead to their next game against the New Orleans Pelicans, Durant is trying to make sure they erase the memory of that ugly, 29-point defeat for good and all.

Staying long after the Warriors' practice Thursday at the Pelicans' Smoothie King Center, Durant put up jumpers and ran one-on-one drills with assistant coach Chris DeMarco, as reporters, including ESPN's Ethan Sherwood Strauss, looked on. Between shots, Durant would yell at himself for motivation.

"They say I ain't hungry!" he said.

"They told me I ain't have no drive! I'm out here. They called me a coward! Putting in work."

Technically, it was the non-Durant Warriors that got called cowards, but Durant has certainly taken his share of flak for his decision to join a 73-win juggernaut.

He explained to reporters afterward why he feels the impetus to remind himself of the knocks against him.

"That's what I say to myself when I'm working," Durant said, according to Strauss. "I hear it all the time. You hear the noise. You hear what they say about you. Everybody hears it. So it's a little extra motivation when you hear it."

Durant may be using it for fuel, but he also pointed out the absurdity of the fan and media overreaction to the Warriors losing one game.

"Obviously you hear everything," he said. "Season's over, the team is worst team in the league, you thought it was going to be easy. It's one game. ... It's one game of 82 and you f---ing guys make me feel like the world's going to end."