My Favorite NBA Player

Kevin Durant is a fourth year NBA star, currently playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Originally from the D.C./Maryland area, Kevin attended college at the University of Texas at Austin. He was selected 2nd overall by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 2007 NBA Draft.

NBA: In his Rookie season, Kevin was named the NBA’s Rookie of the Year and selected as a member of NBA All-Rookie First-Team. That season he also received the NBA Rookie of the Month award five times and averaged 20.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg and 2.4 apg in 34.6 minutes per game. Kevin became just the third teenager to average more than 20 points per game. 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.

In his second season, Kevin averaged 25.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per contest for the newly established Oklahoma City Thunder. 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 season, Kevin earned his first All-NBA First Team selection after becoming the youngest player (21 years and 197 days) to lead the league in scoring (30.1 ppg). His 756 free throws made was the sixth highest single-season total in NBA history and the highest since Michael Jordan made 833 in the 1986-87 season, while his .900 percentage from the line ranked sixth overall. Kevin also recorded a streak of 25 points or more in 29 straight games, the second longest streak of scoring 25 points or more in league history. He capped his season by leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to the playoffs and earning NBA Western Conference Player of the Month honors for the month of April.

In his fourth season, Kevin led the league in scoring and was named to the All-NBA First Team for the second consecutive season. Averaging 27.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and, 2.7 assists, Kevin was also voted by the fans as a starter for the NBA Western Conference All-Star Team for the first time (second overall All-Star appearance). Kevin’s Oklahoma City Thunder squad won 50+ games for the second consecutive year and advanced all the way to the Western Conference Finals before losing to the eventual NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks.

COLLEGE: In his one season at the University of Texas, Kevin completed one of the greatest seasons in the history of College Basketball. In 35 games at UT, Kevin averaged 25.8 ppg (first in Big 12, fourth in the nation), 11 rpg and 1.9 bpg. He scored 20-plus points 30 times, posted 30-plus points 11 times and recorded 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 AWARDS: 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.

FIBA/USA BASKETBALL: Kevin Durant was a member of the 2010 Men’s USA Basketball team that captured the 2010 FIBA World Championship for the first time in 16 years.

Kevin’s performance in the tournament was nothing short of spectacular. In the last three games of the tournament he scored 33, 38 and 28 points against Russia, Lithuania and Turkey, respectively.

The 38 points in the semi-final game against Lithuania set a new USA Basketball record for most points scored in the FIBA World Championship tournament, while his seven three pointers in the gold medal game against Turkey set a new FIBA World Championship record. Kevin also finished the tournament with U.S. FIBA Worlds record 22.8 points in the event, shattering the 20.2 mark Luther Burden put up in 1974.

His performance earned him a spot on the FIBA World Championship All-Tournament team and the tournament’s most valuable player award.

SUMMER/LOCKOUT BASKETBALL: During the NBA Lockout Summer of 2011, Kevin played in pick-up games and summer leagues all across the globe, treating fans in small gyms and play grounds in New York City, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Washington D.C., China and the Philippines to spectacular performances. The highlight of Kevin’s summer basketball performances came in late July when Kevin scored 66 points at the world famous Rucker Park in Harlem, NY.