Kevin Durant wished Carmelo Anthony happy retirement with troll of a lifetime

From one NBA legend to another, Kevin Durant celebrated Carmelo Anthony’s retirement in the best way possible.

One can generally tell how close two friends are based on the pictures in their respective camera rolls. If that’s the case, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony were the best of buddies.

The 38-year-old Anthony announced his retirement on Monday following 19 seasons in the league, immediately eliciting love and praise from his former teammates, franchises, and members of the NBA community.

One player chose the road less traveled by to celebrate Anthony’s retirement: a good ol’ fashioned troll.

Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant was probably snickering to himself while collecting four specific photos for a lovely montage: the first photo is him holding Anthony in a semi-chokehold back when the two played for Team USA.

The second and third photos are fouls that Anthony committed on Durant when they played against each other (Durant was on the Thunder, Anthony on the Knicks).

Durant saved the best for last, though, topping the montage with a screenshot of a decades-old social media interaction in which Anthony called Durant a “milk dud head a–.” You know it’s old because of the outdated Instagram interface:

Kevin Durant posts legendary tribute to Carmelo Anthony in retirement troll post

Anthony last played with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2021 season and decided to call it quits after nearly two decades in the NBA, retiring as the ninth-ranked top scorer in league history.

The prime of his career was arguably with the New York Knicks from 2011 to 2017 when Anthony was awarded seven All-Star selections, won the NBA’s scoring title in 2013 — and, apparently, was a pesky fouler by Durant’s standards.

Anthony and Durant won two Olympic gold medals while playing for Team USA, one in 2012 and another in 2016.

As far as each player’s legacy, some fans think Durant has as many rings as Anthony does (zero) since Durant won his two rings on the superteam that was the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018.

But that’s not even the biggest burn. The biggest, baddest, most legendary burn Durant ever received was from Anthony, who called him out on Instagram all those years ago and compared his head to a milk dud.

Better than being a cupcake.