Christian Kirk made a believer out of NBA star Kevin Durant

Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant wasn’t too busy this month to take in some of the NFL Playoffs action. And there’s one team the 12-time NBA All-Star came away impressed with: the Jacksonville Jaguars.

In an interview with Boardroom, Durant had plenty of good things to say about the Jaguars and wide receiver Christian Kirk.

.@KDTrey5 on who will make the Super Bowl:

“I got Joe Burrow. Best quarterback in the league. I’m going Burrow and Purdy.”

New episode of The ETCs drops Monday. pic.twitter.com/pleQN6YR1M

— Boardroom (@boardroom) January 27, 2023

“Jaguars came with it,” Durant said. “They played well, they just never been there before. … Love Trevor Lawrence. Love [Travis] Etienne. Love Christian Kirk.

“I thought, sorry, I thought [Kirk] was a little overpaid when he first got his money, and then I was like, nah. He was ballin’ in Arizona, but he got paid like he was one of the best in the league, but he showed up this year, though. He shut me up, for sure.”

The Jaguars raised eyebrows when they dished out a four-year, $72 million deal to Kirk last year, despite the receiver never topping 1,000 receiving yards in any of his four seasons with the Arizona Cardinals.

That changed in Jacksonville where Kirk finished the 2022 regular season with 84 receptions, 1,108 yards, and eight touchdowns, all career best marks. He added another 15 receptions for 130 yards and two touchdowns in the Jaguars’ two postseason games.

The Jaguars have long been the punchline of jokes in sports circles and those same groups had a field day when the team paid big money to acquire Kirk last year. The team’s wild ride to the Divisional Round and Kirk’s big year seem to have gone a long way toward changing that narrative.