Rihanna was the biggest star during Game 1 of the NBA Finals, and her presence took over the play on the court:
Rihanna and Kevin Durant have NBA Finals beef
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
This took a turn, however, when a beef began to emerge between Rihanna and Kevin Durant. It started late in the third quarter when people thought Rihanna was yelling at Durant during a free throw:
The loud call of “BRIIIIICK!” could definitely be heard from Rihanna’s seats, but ESPN later showed a reverse angle that proved it wasn’t Rihanna who yelled at KD, but rather her longtime assistant and friend Jenn Rosales:
Durant stared down Rihanna’s seats after sinking his free throw, and immediately the beef was born. Later in the game, he drained a three, again with a call of “BRIIICK!” coming from the seats — and he stared down Rihanna again:
It became such a big story, that KD was asked about it in the Warriors’ postgame press conference, and Steph Curry did his best to try and make sure his teammate didn’t take the bait:
Rihanna has a deep, well-established history of being a huge LeBron James fan. Last night, she bowed to the king and then dabbed on a fan who told her to sit down:
Last year she celebrated with him in spirit:
It’s obvious that Rihanna is pulling for James and the Cavs in this series, and by extension, wants to see the Warriors fail. But that doesn’t make this beef with Kevin Durant deserved. It’s just a shame this latest run-in might spoil what Durant hoped could have been:
