Peyton Manning clowning Kevin Durant big time once had NFL fans wheezing - “This was an all-timer”

Peyton Manning hosted the 2017 ESPY awards and delivered a standard comedic monologue as an introductory segment. His job was to warm up the crowd by telling jokes about some of the athletes in attendance, as well as current events and other sports-related topics. He absolutely crushed it, as he usually does in his various appearances in the media.

One of his most notable punchlines was aimed at NBA superstar Kevin Durant, who has infamously changed teams several times during his legendary career. The joke also gave credit to the USA Women's Gymnastic team for their performance at the Olympics and their worldwide success. While Durant didn't look too pleased with Manning's poke, the fans seemed to love it.

Manning said:

"The final five won the most Olympic medals of any USA Women's Gymnastics team ever. And our gymnastics team was so dominant, that Kevin Durant told me that he wants to play for them for next year. And I got to tell you, I don't think you would start for that team, Kevin. Russell Westbrook, what do you think?"

Many fans jumped on Twitter to give their reactions to this legendary burn:

Peyton Manning's joke centered around a common criticism of Kevin Durant, with many fans calling him a "ring chaser." He began his career with the OKC Thunder, where he spent nine years.

After being eliminated by the Golden State Warriors in the 2015-16 NBA playoffs, he joined them in 2016 during the free agency period. They were the NBA finalists and set an NBA record with 73 wins the season before he joined them.

While Durant helped the Warriors win two championships, many felt that he joined an already-built dynasty led by Steph Curry, rather than trying to win his own rings. The reference that Peyton Manning made to Russell Westbrrok is because Durant left him with the Thunder to join Curry on the Warriors. Manning added fuel to the fire by poking at their apparent "feud" as well.

How many times has Peyton Manning hosted the ESPY's?

Peyton Manning

The 2017 ESPY's where Peyton Manning told the savage joke about Kevin Durant took place just one year after the NBA star joined the Warriors. The "wounds" were still relatively fresh for all involved, adding to the intensity of the burn. While his epic performance would suggest Manning is a prime candidate to host the show often, it was his only time doing so.

He still has a great history at the event in general. Along with his successful hosting role, he also won nine ESPY awards during his career, including the prestigious ESPY Icon award in 2016.