Quick - who came in second to LeBron James in the MVP voting?
He also lead the NBA in scoring this year.
I don't pay attention to pro basketball either, so I was surprised to hear it was Kevin Durant. I am quickly becoming a KD fan.
I thought it was pretty cool to see him at the NBA Draft. He was genuinely excited to see how it would all play out and seemed to want to meet his new teammates immediately. And that's what makes him unique - he is a young talent who has been a great teammate. Today, he showed up at the Summer League game to cheer on his potential teammates. Nobody goes to the Summer League games! They only have one row of chairs!
His excitement for all things NBA is palpable and commendable. And the NBA has taken note. He has done a lot of outreach for the NBA and Nike recently, including going to China.
To juxtapose Durant's team-attitude with the prevailing "build me a team so I can win a championship" attitude from this year's free agency class would be an oversimplified comparison. However, you have to recognize that Durant's enthusiasm and devotion is rare. This comes from a person who was drafted by a lame-duck franchise that was moved to a small market in the midwest. I'm sold on Kevin Durant as one of the best players and one of the most admirable personalities in the NBA.
3 comments:
Kevin Durant!
I like Durant too, but be careful about making assumptions about his personality from the face he shows the public. If Tiger Woods has taught us anything, it's that we never really know what goes on under the surface.
When Durant is 27 with no championship rings....I can easily see him saying "build me a championship team or I walk."
It's great that he's re-signed with them before he even hit free agency- just shows his dedication to the team (for now).
I'm with Kevin, though...the whole Tiger Woods thing has made me very cautious about how I perceive someone. Even Izzo's whole courtship with the Cavs made me think of Izzo in a way I never thought I would...and that's Tom Izzo!
But for now, as far as favorite NBA players go, he's right at the top. It's nice to see a team-first guy instead of a me-first. And showing up at summer league games...way cool.
I completely agree with the "Tiger Woods cautionary tale" - I was thinking about exactly that as I was writing this post. I was trying to not go too over the top and say he's a "good person" we don't really know anyone. It's unfortunate that you have to question everyone's true character, but Durant seems to have great team loyalty and a hard work ethic.
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