Oklahoman
Kevin Durant never had the latest and most expensive shoes when he was growing up. And he’s hasn’t forgotten that about what that was like.
Durant remembers having three pairs of shoes when he was a teenager and having one pair that he wore all around Seat Pleasant, Md.
“We couldn’t afford the Pennys, the Pippens, the Jordans,” Durant told The Oklahoman on Thursday. “I had one pair of Team Jordan’s, and I wore them everywhere. I hooped in them, played football in them. I had some Shaqs from K-Mart and a pair of Tim Duncans. But I couldn’t get a bunch of different ones like I wanted.”
Durant’s memory of not being able to have the shoes he wanted had a big impact when it came time to price his own line of shoes.
While NBA stars like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James have shoe lines that cost around $150, Durant offers his Nike KD line at $88. His shoe has become one of the most popular on the market.
Category : Blog
Thunder forward Kevin Durant is a humble superstar. From making sure photographers are OK after courtside crashes to signing autograph after autograph, Durant has always remembered his mother’s sage advice: “It didn’t have to be you.”
Layne Murdoch sat camped under the basket, on the cusp of capturing a potentially picture-perfect portrait. He steadied his lens as the three-on-two fast break crept closer to him. He held his position even when the action became too close for comfort.
Suddenly, Kevin Durant slammed into him, the contact from two Charlotte Bobcats defenders sending him crashing to the floor following a reverse layup attempt.
Durant, the Oklahoma City Thunder superstar, banged his head at the end of the play. Murdoch was knocked over on impact. Durant rolled around in pain while rubbing the back of his head. Yet, with his noggin throbbing, and his team nursing a tenuous one-point lead in the second half, Durant still had the presence of mind to turn his attention to the well-being of someone else, something more significant than the scoreboard.
He asked Murdoch if he was all right.
“It kind of cracked me up because I was really concerned about him,” Murdoch said. “I was like, “˜Yeah I’m OK. Are you OK?’”
Murdoch is the NBA’s team photographer for the Thunder. In his 31 years of taking NBA photos, he’s been barreled over by everyone from Hakeem Olajuwon to Karl Malone. The Mailman actually sat on Murdoch with no regard while arguing a call with a referee. And Murdoch’s seen much worse, like the infamous image of Dennis Rodman kicking a cameraman in the groin following a crash in Minnesota “” and then laughing about it.
But after his collision with Durant, Murdoch joined a rapidly growing group that has experienced the kindness of Kevin Durant. It’s a trait that Durant displays daily, but one that runs deeper than anything fans see on television.
Category : Blog
