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Trey Kerby of Yahoo’s excellent Ball Don’t Lie had a tremendous piece today on Kevin Durant. It’s basically around 800 words of why we all love KD so, so much.
No other superstar would thank another player for wearing his signature shoes, but there’s Kevin Durant saying “I thank Amar’e [Stoudemire] for that” when asked about the Phoenix Suns big man’s preference for the Nike Zoom KD2. No other superstar views the Great Wall of China as “the toughest workout I ever did.” No one else in the NBA is picking Russell Westbrook as their NBA Jam partner, but Durant does with the quickness, ostensibly because he’s “the most athletic player in the league,” but probably more because Durant values him as a teammate. It’s those little things — like being constantly in awe of the NBA, always trying to get better, nurturing teammates — that make Kevin Durant such an important player as the league enters its seventh decade.
Durant, it seems, approaches basketball the way us fans like to think we would — devoted to bettering himself, remaining humble despite clearly dominating and “not [taking] anything for granted because [playing in the NBA] is a dream come true.” Kevin Durant loves basketball more than anything besides winning (“I just want to win”), and that’s not always the case with young players. Sure, they might be able to do a couple of those things, but it’s pretty rare to put all three together.
KD goes on to say for the millionth time that he’s no superstar, just a guy playing basketball. He says he wants an Olympic gold more than an NBA title. He also says the only think he loves more than basketball is winning.
This is just story No. 597 in the building archives about how humble, likable and wonderful of a person Kevin Durant is. Yet, they never get old. When you read about what a prima donna LeBron has turned into and how other players are focused on their “brand” and becoming a global icon, it’s always refreshing to hear about how KD plays XBOX with neighbors, tweets about farting, thanks other players, respects other players, always speaks with his team in mind first and remains humble despite being a record-breaking player at the age of 21.
Never change KD. Never change.
KD = Great player AND an ever better person. Look up to this guys, kiddies!
The gold medal reasoning is amazing! anyone that argues against it does not understand where he is coming from. Think about it....if he wins a championship, that means he is one of hundreds of people to win one. I mean career long bench players have championship rings. KD is the best player on the team, but so was chauncey billups in the Pistons title run and I dont think anyone is putting him in the elite category. Dont forget this is a team sport, shown by Kobe and Lebrons playoff exits. The best player in the league doesnt always have the best team, and thus, cant win the championship. But, if he is one of the best players, or the best player, on a team thats already the best in the NBA, and then win the Gold medal, he could pretty confidently say that he's one of the best, if not the best in the world.
BOLTS.BOLTS.BOLTS.BOLTS.BOLTS.BOLTS.
i mean, someone like big baby. And I don't really care, the playoffs are the most important part!
Big baby is a player who plays better in playoff.
If thunder keep him,can he have the same level?
big baby is the type of dude we need. impressionable, intense, and legitimately big.
I can understand where he's coming from on the gold medal v. NBA title argument... when you tell people you won an NBA title that says you're amongst the best in the United States... when you win a gold medal that says you're amongst the best in the World...
@Mark!
Dragic is the front runner on that squad. I look forward to seeing what he can do as a starter.
Durant said. “Guys like LeBron, Kobe, Carmelo Anthony, Wade, those guys are great, great players. I pattern myself after them. I want to be the best I can be and lead my team to the Finals. If that means I become better than LeBron, then so be it.”
From the Thursday Bolts http://www.dailythunder.com/2010/06/thursday-bolts-6-10-10/
Glen Davis plays much better in the playoffs.
@Greg
As celtic fan,I must say no Bynum it makes him easy to score.
Of course he is a good player,last season he was a jump shooter,but he change role to shot in post this season.
I love Big Baby. He's on my "love to watch bench squad all star" team alongside Pietrus and Dragic.
Lot of Big Baby hating going on lately. He's having himself quite a game tonight.
KD you are very humle.i love that attitude.you are superstar right now.....if you have someone like Paul gasol help you in post ...you can tip anything by yourhand for sure.....i'm assume CHRIS BOSS
KD,RW,CB our big tree???
@Frootloop
As somebody raised by a single mother I'm inclined to agree.
@Osano-Whoa
I tend to think his Mother's influence on him is underrated. Just a gut feeling.
Orton is definitely more mobile than Perkins.
IF you say KD is superstar,he will say NO;But if you say he is overpaid,he would show he dont agree with you and do something to improve you make mistake.KD is a player like that
If lack of swagger were an issue then I think we would have seen it already. He may be in awe of Kobe and think that he's not even on the same level, but that didn't stop him from asking to guard Kobe during the playoffs. Durant has all the swagger you'd ever want, it's just in his actions and not his words.
Adding onto the chorus of how much people love Durant's personality, I think it's great that he's so focused on winning and getting better. He must know at some level how good he is, but his focus seems to be on how good he isn't instead. Reading interviews and articles about his workout routine and his focus on improvement, KD comes off as almost neurotically driven. But that's what he has to be if he wants to be the best player in the world.
That somebody like KD exists at all is kind of incredible. People as talented as KD rarely have the kind of work ethic he does, because they don't have to in order to excel. Everybody in the NBA is a genius and everybody in the NBA works hard (for the most part), but how many people in the NBA work as hard as Durant? A handful maybe? He's got the heart of the guy that's making it on heart alone, except he's also got the talent of the guy that's making it on talent alone. Add on the fact that he found his love for basketball so young and found a quality teacher to guide him early and you've got some pretty fortunate circumstances as well. It's a rare and awesome thing to see such an exceptional intersection of talent, dedication, skill, and luck. I just feel lucky that I get to watch the guy grow.
/signed Don't change KD!
Nobody thought he was lacking confidence when he was talking about making the playoffs last offseason, in fact a few in the media said he was being too brash/cocky.
Just b/c he doesn't pimp himself at every opportunity, or try to get as much media attention as possible, or come up with his own nicknames, or wear shirts with "check my stats" on it, or say he's only had 2-3 bad games so far in his career, doesn't mean the guy doesn't have confidence.
man i love this guy. kd and ricky and pony boy are the only longhorns i have wished success upon.
@Greg
I love that he has a comprehensive mental list of the things he wants to improve on. Goal-setters go far.
@nlink
What the others said. You can be both humble and confident. In fact, you'll find most of the "heavy hitters" don't feel the need to say much. Walk softly and carry a big stick.
This kid is my favorite in the league by far. He is the reason I could not make the switch to my now home-town team, the warriors, when the sonics left. I hope he never leaves, and I have to spend another 500 bucks on gear.
Those are some schweet kicks. It must be the shoes!
Bill Simmons' article about LeBron and what drove different basketball players was important, and important to think about in the context of KD. Look at Kobe, for so many years of his career, being viewed as the best was more important than winning. For Garnett, things like loyalty and hard work were more important than winning. You could argue the same for Malone. Simmons said LeBron's goal was to amaze people, that may be true, I honestly don't know what his main goal is. I'm almost positive he views winning as a means to an end rather than an end in itself, which worries me about his potential.
To have a 21-year old who, apparently with all sincerity, already views winning as the most important thing is rare and swagger enough for me.
When asked if he'd rather have a gold medal or an NBA title, Durant surprisingly chose the medal. Then he explained why, "There's only 14 or 15 guys in the whole league who can say ‘I won a gold medal,' there's a lot of guys that can say they won an NBA championship."
** should have read... Don’t confuse humility with inner drive and competitive fire.
@nlink
Lots of humble athletes have won in their sport's greatest stage. You'll remember them if you stop and think about it for a moment.
Don't confuse humility with inner drive and competitive. Some of the most motivated and competitive people on the planet are humble and quiet.
KD:
When asked what he'd be working on this summer, Durant had just a couple of ideas: "Ball-handling, jump shots, different types of shots, pick and rolls, post-ups, getting in the weight room, everything." Typical summer fun-time stuff, really.
The first thing he mentioned, ballhandling, ironically the most important. As soon as he can go into traffic with more balance and control while maintaining possession, his game will be unstoppable.
@nlink
Tim Duncan is really the only contemporary winner that strikes me as having a similar attitude. Maybe David Robinson to a lessor extent.
Dwight Howard has a similar thing going on, doesn't he? Maybe more of a joker. He gets a lot of flak for that.
I do think KD will need to get some kind of swagger going. He's shown it from time to time. Russ a good teammate for him. Russ talks the talk like Durant but he's a lot more fiery a personality on the court.
@Dustin
I wouldn't read too much into that.
@nlink
Not a concern, he's still 21. If he carried himself with that "swagger" at such a young age, before ever winning anything, then that could come across as arrogant.. maybe Carmelo'ish. There isn't a thing I'd change about KD and his progress athletically, his game, emotionally or his demeanor.
He says he wants an Olympic gold more than an NBA title.
Why KD Why?
KD... Where amazing lives.
Love the work ethic, the humble attitude, and the commitment to getting better. At some point though, I wonder if KD is going to have to get an injection of swagger or confidence (that he IS among the best in the league) in order to lead this team to a championship and become one of the best of all time. Look at guys like Kobe, D-Wade, Lebron, KG, and MJ. They all have this supreme confidence in themselves that THEY are the best on the court and when it comes down to crunchtime, the ball belongs in their hands. I can see sparks of this in Westbrook, but I wonder if it'll ever come for KD. Anyone else think this is a legitimate concern?
Of course, I guess being humble can also win championships. Just ask Tim Duncan's 4 rings.
GoHornsGo90 :What a bad ass. How could you not love this guy?
You could root for the Blazers.
What a bad ass. How could you not love this guy?
light-hearted superstar KD#35