Kevin Durant: Second best no more

Kevin Durant #35 of the Oklahoma City Thunder handles the ball against the Atlanta Hawks on December 10, 2013 at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

With all the attention being focused on the ‘Chosen One’ since he took his talents to South Florida, the NBA has recently been the story of how the great LeBron James finally made his date with destiny. Enough has already been written about how good LeBron is and how thoroughly he deserves those championship rings.

Without adding any more feathers to his hat, let us shift our focus to another basketball prodigy who goes by the name of Kevin Durant. Having come up from a humble background, ‘Go hard or Go home’ has been the motto of his life. The very same hard work is what brought him and the Oklahoma City Thunder close to the NBA championship in 2012. His drive and motivation are what have inspired millions of people all around the world.

After having lost to the Miami Heat in 5 games during the 2011/2012 season, the OKC came back all guns blazing during the next year. OKC played their heart out during the regular season and had one of the best records in the NBA. Everything was set for another Heat vs Thunder showdown in the NBA finals. The only thing that could have stopped that was some unforeseen circumstance. And that’s what exactly happened in the playoffs. Westbrook got injured and that did hurt the Thunders bad, very bad.

When the 2012/2013 season began, Durant made it very clear that he was done being the second best. In a press conference, he expressed his discontent over the fact that he had been the second best player all his life. The second best player in his college, the second player to be drafted in the 2007 draft, was second in the MVP race and the second best in the NBA finals.

This outburst was something that no one expected. Many pundits criticised him for getting flustered by that finals defeat and going as far as saying that he was not ready for the NBA finals yet.

But those words were something that made me believe in the whole Kevin Durant prospect over again. That showed how badly he wants to get a hold of that trophy and how hungry he is for success. While the media was busy making the 2012/2013 season as LBJ’s quest for a second ring, the Thunders were busy working hard and evolving continuously under Scott Brooks. Teams came and went as OKC proved dominant over every single team. With Kevin Durant emerging as the team leader and carrying the weight of all the expectations, OKC were the team to beat during that season. Unfortunately, the team lost its crucial wheel in the form of Westbrook and with no James Harden to back them up, the team struggled to penetrate deep and struggled in creating chances.

Although, there was a bright side to all that. The injury gave a chance to Durant to lead the plays and to lead the Thunder offence. Durant had to distribute the ball more and he was quick to cope up with that. He racked up assists and as a result his points decreased – something that Durant’s game always needed. A 6ft 9in guy with great ball control and scoring ability and then having the ability to create good chances for his team mates would ascertain his place in the NBA Hall Of Fame. Having been awed by his sensational talents, the day isn’t far when he grabs a hold of that trophy. Till then, we’ll just have to wait and watch.