ESPYs presenter takes jab at Kendall Jenner's 'starting 5' dating history

Naledi Ushe, USA TODAY
Updated ·2 min read
7

Kendall Jenner caught a stray diss during the 2023 ESPY Awards Wednesday night.

During the show’s opening, sports analyst Pat McAfee took a jab at "The Kardashians" star and her romantic past with NBA players.

"Kendall Jenner’s starting five would win the NBA championship every single year," he quipped, getting mixed reactions from the crowd.

McAfee pointed to Denver Nuggets player Jamal Murray and added, "You know it, Jamal. If they’re in the bubble, your (butt) is getting smoked, dude."

Kendall Jenner's "starting five" was made a joke during the 2023 ESPYs.
Kendall Jenner's "starting five" was made a joke during the 2023 ESPYs.

The "starting five" is a reference to a 2019 meme referring to the model’s dating history. "2 out of 5 accurate, thanks," she responded on Twitter at the time, presumably referring to Ben Simmons and Blake Griffin, who were featured in the meme.

Jenner's older sister Kim Kardashian even got in on the joke, recently wearing a T-shirt featuring the 27-year-old model surrounded by NBA stars Simmons, Griffin, Jordan Clarkson, Kyle Kuzma and her most recent ex-boyfriend, Devin Booker.

Kardashian wore the shirt while filming a TikTok shared last month of her doing daughter North West’s hair.

Eagled-eyes fans also saw Kardashian wearing the cheeky T-shirt in a trailer for Season 3 of "The Kardashians" as Kylie Jenner sat all the sisters down to "have an honest conversation about the beauty standards that we’re setting."

2023 ESPYS: Award winners, top moments and more from ESPN award show

Most recently, Jenner has been linked to Puerto Rican singer and rapper Bad Bunny.

Paparazzi pictures of the pair kissing, outings to basketball events and speculation that he dissed Jenner's ex Booker on a song have added fuel to relationship rumors.

Kendall Jenner, Bad Bunny and when your maybe-kind-of-sort-of secret romance gets exposed

Bad Bunny opened up about maintaining his privacy amid intense media scrutiny during an interview with Rolling Stone published in June. When asked about his dating life, the reggaeton artist said "the only thing I have is my privacy."

"I know something is going to come out. I know (people are) going to say something," Bad Bunny said. "People know everything about me, so what’s left for me to protect? My private life, my personal life."

Contributing: David Oliver, Edward Segerra

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ESPYs 2023: Kendall Jenner subject of 'starting 5' joke