Sports Radio Interviews

Kevin Durant Will Make the First of Many All-Star Teams This Year

Three years ago, Kevin Durant was the second overall pick of the then Seattle Sonics and the now Oklahoma City Thunder. The Blazers had the first overall pick, passed on Durant and took Greg Oden. That hasn’t worked so well…for the Blazers at least. While Greg Oden has dealt with a myriad of injuries throughout his young career (and has been just average when healthy), Kevin Durant is one of the best young players in the NBA already and just keeps getting better and better and better. And the scary thing for NBA teams is that he won’t turn 22 until September. In his rookie season, Durant was clearly the best first year player. Last year, he followed up his brilliant rookie season by increasing his points per game by five and his rebounds per game by two. Now, in just his third NBA season, Durant has become one of the best players at his position and one of the most prolific scorers in the entire league. This season, his shooting percentage is up, his assists per game are up, his rebounds per game are up and he continues to work at the defensive end of the floor. The sky is the limit for the silky smooth former Longhorn. There’s no question that KD is an All Star this year and should be in Dallas, but he’s also played well enough for his team that he should make his way on people’s MVP ballots at the end of the year as well.

Kevin Durant joined The Sports Animal in Oklahoma City with Jim Traber to talk about the desire to make the playoffs, how he is dealing with all the hype that he is getting, and the play of Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook.

On his prediction that the Thunder would make the playoffs:

“I didn’t say we were going to make the playoffs. I said we wanted to be. We’re getting there man. We’re getting better each day.”

On how he deals with the extra attention he has been getting lately:

“I gotta stay humbled. We gotta stay humbled as a group. Just know that in a blink of an eye all this stuff can be gone. We gotta continue to remain humbled and hungry and take it one game at a time and get better each time we step onto the floor. That’s what we try to do.”

On the team moving from Seattle to Oklahoma City:

“Oh yeah this is a blessing. I can’t complain about anything especially being in this league. I get to do what I love all day every day. I just had to go where I had to go and I’m just excited that I’m a part of this Oklahoma City franchise and I think we’re moving in the right direction. I’m blessed. I just have to continue to wake up every day and have the attitude that I want to get better.”

On the play of Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook:

“A lot of people talk about me of course, but Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook make the biggest plays for us in the fourth. He (Jeff Green) came through with a big block. We were down one, the momentum was on Minnesota’s side and he hit a big three to put us up two, he made that tip-in, so he makes a lot of big plays down the stretch for us that a lot of people don’t give him credit for. Me and Jeff have been together since we both came into the league so we consider each other brothers. We went through a lot of different things together so it’s our time to try and change it.”

Listen to Kevin Durant on the Sports Animal in Oklahoma City here

Tags: 2010 NBA All Star game, Kevin Durant, NBA, Oklahoma City Thunder, Western Conference