The Brooklyn Nets may not have made the 2021 NBA Finals, but they were still seen as one of the most dominant teams in the league thanks to the trio of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving. This season marked the first time the three were all on the same team, and thanks to the Nets’ black and white color scheme it wasn’t long before fans started comparing them to the classic New World Order trio of Hollywood Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall in WCW. Durant, who was a wrestling fan growing up, was asked if he agreed with the comparison in an interview with Sports Illustrated this week.
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“I definitely appreciate the group and what they brought to the entertainment space. I was a huge fan as a kid. I don’t (think we’re the same),” Durant said. “It kind of looks that way, right? Our team wears all black and we kind of got three guys on the team that a lot of fans in the NBA don’t really like as much. It can seem that way, but I don’t think we take on that mentality. I think we come in and operate at a pretty smooth, easy, reserved level. We’re just very high-skilled guys, but I guess [from] the outside perception, it can seem that way. But for us, we just really enjoy to play every day.”
Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) on the comparison between the Nets Big-Three and the NWO: pic.twitter.com/DdLlmZSLon
— NetsWorld.org (@NetsWorldOrg) July 14, 2021
WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff, a former NWO member and the brains behind the group, was also interviewed for the story and loved the idea of having Durant join the faction.
“Kevin Durant would be welcomed with open arms, by not only myself, the architect of the NWO, but also Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. We would love to have Kevin Durant be a lifetime member of the NWO,” Bischoff said.
Surprisingly, Durant wouldn’t even be the first NBA player to be in the faction. Former NBA Champion Dennis Rodman joined the group in March 1997 while on the Chicago Bulls, then popped up again in the summer of 1998 to side with Hogan as part of NWO Hollywood.
The faction — represented by Hogan, Nash, Hall and Sean Waltman — was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame back in April. Bischoff also got received an induction, being recognized for his work both in front of and behind the camera in WCW and in the WWE.
