Stop Calling That Man Legendary: Memes, Origin & Fun Examples

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Learn why hilarious audio about KD is popping up all over the place

Co-authored by Eric McClure Reviewed by Candace Gasper

Last Updated: December 25, 2025 Fact Checked

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Meaning

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Why It’s Popular

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Fun Examples

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Origin

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The KD Debate

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Video

What’s the difference between elite, outstanding, top tier, and legendary? The language we use to describe the best of the best is typically based on nothing other than intuition and personal preference, but for sports fans, who is and isn’t legendary is a matter of life and death. TikTok has recently fallen in love with one of these intense conversations surrounding Kevin Durant and the hilarious audio that accompanied the convo. We’ll break everything down for you below.

Why Is “Stop Calling That Man Legendary” Trending?

The clip comes from a 2023 podcast where a few sports fans got into a hilarious argument over whether Kevin Durant is “legendary” or not. TikTok picked up the audio and started to repurpose it for animes, actors, musicians, and other sports players they wanted to knock down a peg.

Section 1 of 5:

What does the “stop calling that man legendary” meme mean?

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The meme is used to suggest that someone isn’t in the top tier. The “stop calling that man legendary” clip comes from a sports podcast. In the original audio, you can hear a heated podcaster go on a wild rant about how basketball superstar Kevin Durant isn’t “legendary.” TikTok picked up on the clip and started overlaying the audio on top of anime characters, musicians, cartoons, and other people/places/things they found to be overrated.
- It’s important to note that the meme isn’t used to imply something is bad, just that it’s not “the best possible caliber.” Picture the difference between, say, Tom Brady and Jordan Love. Nobody would ever say Love is bad, but he’s definitely not in the same tier of quarterbacks.
- Other possible comparisons that the meme works for include The Beatles (legendary) versus The Killers (good, but not “the best”) or Naruto and Kill La Kill.

Section 2 of 5:

Why is the “stop calling that man legendary” meme so popular?

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It’s fun to compare things! It’s fun to have a spicy opinion! These kinds of conversations also tend to draw very strong reactions from people, so they’re great engagement bait if you’re an influencer trying to grow a following. Sports fans are also huge fans of competition to begin with, so these “who is the best” convos tend to be very heated and entertaining.

Section 3 of 5:

Popular Examples of the Meme

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The beauty of the meme is that it’s super flexible and can be applied to basically anything you want to knock down a peg, so there’s a ton of variety in these clips! Here are a few of our favorites:
- This video that argues My Hero Academia isn’t an elite anime.
- Has there been a non-Legendary Spider-Man? This riff on the meme suggests they’ve all been bangers in their own way.
- This hilarious analysis of Stranger Things really finds a clever way to use “score” in a different way than the original meme.
- Is Jalen Hurts elite?! This one is sure to get the Cowboys fans foaming at the mouth.

Section 4 of 5:

Origin of “Stop Calling That Man Legendary”

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The original clip comes from a 2023 episode of the Pick a Side podcast. The audio went viral on TikTok due to a fan edit made by user @edot.prodz, but the clip comes from a very heated episode of the Pick a Side podcast, a long-running show about sports debates. In the clip, host Riv Brown goes on a hilarious rant about what “legendary” means and tries to build a case that Kevin Durant isn’t in that caliber of player.
- Riv’s main contention in the episode is that while KD is a top-tier player, he lacks the clutch moments and iconic plays that make a Magic Johnson or Michael Jordan legendary.
- Part of what makes the clip so charming is that Riv makes some good points, but he’s so angry and passionate that he ends up overstepping into high drama. At first, he’s making some great arguments about KD’s playoff record, but by the end of the clip he’s just screeching that he’s “garbage.” This is known as the Stephen A. Smith effect.

Section 5 of 5:

Is Kevin Durant not legendary?

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It totally depends on how you define “legendary.” This is part of what makes these conversations so fun (and this meme so popular). “Legendary” could mean anything from “so elite they will never be forgotten” to “hall of fame player” to “one of the best playing right now”...it just totally depends on what you mean.^{[1]
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- These kind of “ranking” posts and conversations are super popular online, especially on platforms like TikTok, because they’re so good at sparking discussion and creating engagement. Whether you’re a big Durant fan or not, you’re sure to have strong feelings about whether he’s legendary or not!