Kevin Durant Scarlett Johansson: The Truth About That Infamous Tweet

Twitter in 2011 was a complete wasteland of unfiltered thoughts. It wasn’t the polished, PR-managed corporate machine we see now. Back then, celebrities actually used the app like normal people—posting weird lunch photos and shouting into the void. Enter a 22-year-old Kevin Durant. He wasn't the two-time champion or the "Slim Reaper" yet. He was just a young star in Oklahoma City with a phone and a massive crush. On January 17, 2011, KD sent a tweet that would eventually become a permanent piece of internet folklore.

"Scarlett johanneson I will drink ur bath water...#random."

He misspelled her last name. He used a hashtag that did absolutely nothing to soften the blow. It was visceral, incredibly thirsty, and strangely honest. While most athletes today would have their accounts scrubbed by a crisis management team within minutes, that tweet is still up. It’s a digital monument to a time when superstars didn't care about "brand safety."

Why the Kevin Durant Scarlett Johansson Tweet Still Goes Viral

Every few months, this tweet resurfaces. It usually happens when Scarlett Johansson has a new movie coming out or when KD switches teams again. People love it because it’s relatable in the most cringeworthy way possible. Most of us have had a celebrity crush that made us act a little stupid. The difference is we didn't broadcast it to millions of followers while being one of the best basketball players on the planet.

Honestly, the context of the 2011 NBA season makes it even funnier. KD was becoming a household name. He was the "nice guy" of the league compared to the "villain" era of LeBron in Miami. Then, out of nowhere, he tells the world he’s willing to consume bathwater for a chance with Black Widow.

It wasn't just a one-off moment of madness, either. Durant has a long history of being one of the most "online" athletes in history. From arguing with teenagers on burner accounts to tweeting about his "bubble guts" at 3 AM, the man is a True Poster. The Scarlett Johansson tweet was just the opening act of a decade-long performance.

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Did Scarlett Johansson Ever Respond?

This is the part that kills people. For years, everyone wondered if ScarJo even knew the tweet existed. Think about it. She’s an A-list actress who, for a long time, stayed famously far away from social media. The chances of her scrolling through her "mentions" and seeing a scrawny forward from the Thunder shooting his shot were slim to none.

However, the internet is persistent.

During a 2017 appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast, the topic finally came up again. You’d think a 28-year-old Durant—now a champion with the Warriors—would laugh it off as a youthful mistake. Nope. He doubled down. Hard.

"I hope she was aware of it. It is strange now because it made me look crazy, but now it made me look real cool because I would. I actually love Scarlett Johansson, and I would do that. And she's single now from what I heard."

KD wasn't backing down. He basically told the world that the offer was still on the table. It’s that level of stubbornness that makes him one of the most polarizing figures in sports. He doesn't care if you think he's "creepy." He’s being himself.

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As for Scarlett? She’s never given a formal public statement about the bathwater proposal. She eventually married Saturday Night Live star Colin Jost, and the world moved on. Well, everyone except the people who reply to every single one of KD's tweets with a picture of a bathtub.

The Impact on NBA Twitter Culture

You can't talk about Kevin Durant Scarlett Johansson without talking about the birth of "NBA Twitter." This single tweet helped set the tone for how fans interact with players. It broke the fourth wall.

Before this, athletes were like untouchable gods. After this, we realized they were just as weird and bored as the rest of us. It opened the floodgates for other players to be more authentic (or at least more chaotic).

• The "Shooters Shoot" Mentality: KD’s tweet became the ultimate example of "shooting your shot."
• Meme Longevity: It’s one of the few tweets from the early 2010s that hasn't aged poorly in terms of comedy; it’s just consistently bizarre.
• The Burner Era: This was the precursor to KD's more controversial social media habits. It proved he was paying attention to what people said about him.

What This Tells Us About Celebrity Branding

Basically, KD proved that you don't need a filtered image to be successful. He’s won MVPs and Finals trophies while remaining one of the most criticized people on the internet. He’s thin-skinned, he’s petty, and he’s hilarious.

The Scarlett Johansson saga is a reminder that the "perfect athlete" is a myth. We often want our stars to be robots who only talk about "giving 110%," but then we complain when they’re boring. KD gave us something that wasn't boring. He gave us a headline that will probably be mentioned in his Hall of Fame induction speech (okay, maybe not the speech, but definitely the after-party).

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It’s also worth noting how much the internet has changed. If a young player tweeted that today, there would be think pieces about "boundaries" and "objectification" within an hour. In 2011, it was just #random.

Final Insights on the KD/ScarJo Legend

When you look back at the Kevin Durant Scarlett Johansson moment, it’s clear it was never really about the actress. It was about Kevin Durant’s personality. He is a guy who lives his life out loud. Whether he’s asking to drink bathwater or debating his legacy with a random fan named "LakersFan88," he is unapologetically himself.

The lesson here? Don't delete your old tweets. They might be embarrassing, they might make you look "crazy," but they are the only real record we have of these stars before they were handled by 50 different agents.

If you want to dive deeper into the world of elite athlete social media, your best bet is to look at the archives of other players from that same era. Guys like Giannis Antetokounmpo (the "Smoothie" tweet) or Joel Embiid’s early pursuit of Rihanna follow the same blueprint. It’s a mix of innocence, fame, and the absolute chaos of the early internet.

The next step is to look at how these social media interactions have evolved into actual business opportunities. Players are no longer just tweeting into the void; they're building media empires off the very personalities they revealed in those early, weird posts. Take a look at KD’s "Boardroom" platform to see how he turned "being online" into a multi-million dollar business.