PROFESSIONAL:The Seattle SuperSonics selected Kevin with the 2nd overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. He was named the 2007-08 NBA Rookie of the Year as well as NBA All-Rookie First-Team. Kevin received the NBA Rookie of the Month award five times out of six. He averaged 20.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg and 2.4 apg in 34.6 minutes per game his rookie season. Kevin became just the third teenager to average more than 20 points per game (Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James). He scored a career-high 42 points and a career-high 13 rebounds on April 16, 2008 at Golden State at age 19 years 200 days. No player in the history of the NBA has scored as many points in a game at a younger age. During his second season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin averaged 26 ppg, 6.6 rpg and 2.9 apg. On February 13, 2009, he captured the MVP award of the Rookie/Sophomore T-Mobile Challenge by scoring a team-high 46 points. In his third year in the NBA, Kevin scored the 5000th point of his career on February 9, 2010 with a win over the Portland Trailblazers. He is the second-youngest player in NBA history to reach the 5000th point milestone (LeBron James was the first). Kevin made his NBA all-star debut in Dallas as a reserve for the Western Conference where he scored 15 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in 20 minutes of action. He is a two-time winner of TNT’s annual H-O-R-S-E competition as part of all-star weekend. Kevin’s 29 consecutive games of scoring 25 points or more is a franchise record and the longest streak since Michael Jordan’s 40 games in 1986-87. Kevin earned a place in NBA history capturing the 2009-2010 scoring title. With an average of 30.1 points per game, Kevin became the youngest NBA scoring champion. He won the NBA Western Conference Player of the Month award for April and led the Thunder to their first playoff series.
COLLEGE: Kevin averaged 25.8 ppg (first in Big 12, fourth in the nation), 11 rpg and 1.9 bpg in 35 games as a freshman at the University of Texas. He scored 20-plus points 30 times and posted 30-plus points 11 times while recording 20 double-doubles during his one year as a Longhorn. Kevin exploded for 37 points and a career-high 23 rebounds at Texas Tech and again posted 37 points along with 10 rebounds, a career-high 6 assists and a career-high six blocks vs. Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament finals. He was named the Big 12 Tournament Most Valuable Player after scoring a tournament record 92 points.
COLLEGIATE HIGHLIGHTS: Kevin earned National Player of the Year honors from The Associated Press, NABC, USBWA, CBS/Chevrolet and The Sporting News. He became the first freshman in NCAA history ever to win the prestigious John R. Wooden Award, the Naismith Award and the Adolph Rupp Trophy. Kevin earned consensus First Team All-American honors, becoming just the third freshman in NCAA history to earn that honor, joining Wayman Tisdale (1983) and Chris Jackson (1989). Kevin was named Big 12 Freshman and Player of the Year, earned First Team All-Conference honors and was named to the league’s All-Defensive Team. On February 25, 2009, the University of Texas retired Kevin’s No. 35 jersey making him just the third player in the 103-year history of the program.
PERSONAL: Kevin Wayne Durant was born on September 29, 1988 in Washington, D.C. His older brother Anthony (23) played basketball at Towson University in Maryland. Kevin wears the number 35 to honor his AAU coach, Charles Craig, who passed away at the age of 35. Kevin’s favorite food is crab legs. He’s an avid video game player; naming NBA Live and March Madness is favorite games to play. Kevin’s mentor and coach, Taras Brown, gave him a quotation to remember: “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard”.
