Taking a Ride with Kevin Durant0

Recently iamnba.com’s Justine Brown was given the wonderful opportunity of hopping in the car and grabbing an interview with Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Durant is a two-time NBA scoring champion and one of the best young players in the league today.  He most recently lead his team to the Western Conference Finals only to lose to the eventual NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks.  Also just this year, Durant signed a five-year extension with the Oklahoma City Thunder worth $86 million.  We’d like to give a very sincere thanks to KD for being the humble and down-to-earth guy that he is, answering our questions and providing a great interview while riding to day two of his Nike Skills Academy in Chicago.

Checkout the video or written version of the interview below as he discusses all topics including the NBA lockout, the Thunder team, his skills academy, draft pick Reggie Jackson, why he loves Oklahoma City, his backpack line and more.

(Vid may be a bit shaky as we were riding in the car but shout out to Chuck who did as best he could as our camera guy!)

-What do you like most about being able to work with some of the best young talent in the country?

I really like how hands on it is.  Those guys really hang on every word. They really want to be taught. They really want to get to theNBA level.  I think me, going through that same process, it’s easy for me to tell them what it takes.  We’ve been working hard. Those guys have been getting after it, being very competitive and it’s been easier for me.  I’ve been having a lot of fun.

-We heard you get really involved with all of the drills and interact a lot with the campers. You’re known for being so humble.  Do you do this because you feel you owe it to them or because it’s an opportunity to get better for you?

You know, I just want to get better.  Those guys can push me to my limits and make me get better as well, and vice versa.  I’ve beenhaving a lot of fun this past two years, it’s been great.  Nike did a great job of just letting me do my thing instead of putting limitations on things and I’m just trying to grow from there.

-What do you want to work on personally in your own game this offseason?

Just everything.  I always want to be a well-rounded player, you know, posting up, ball handling, shooting jumpers, and shooting different types of shots.  I just want to be a well-rounded player and continue to grow like that.

-What do you think of OKC’s 24th pick in the draft, Reggie Jackson, a guard out of Boston College?

I was very excited.  He’s another guy that we can add to our deep group already.  He’s similar to Russell (Westbrook).  He’s 6’3”, long arms, very athletic and can make basketball plays at the one and the two.  We were very excited about picking him up and we were very fortunate that he slipped a few picks down to our team.  He should be very good for us next year.

-Do you think with that transaction OKC may shop some of other guards that are on the current roster?

Man, that’s tough.  You never know in this league and it’s such a business in this league, but I hope we stick together for as long as possible.  I think we have something good going on in Oklahoma City.  But I think Reggie (Jackson) just adds another person to our team that makes us deeper.  Practices are going to be better, shoot arounds are going to be better, training camp is going to be better, so if you do all of those things pretty well you’re going to have a successful season.

-Do you think you guys have all of the components you need in order to take that next step and go to the finals next year?

I think we do.  You know, we were right there.  We lost two games that we were up late in the game and we kind of slipped away there, but I think we have what it takes.  We have to continue to keep going and know that it’s not going to be guaranteed to us next year.  We gotta come out and work every day and I think we have the right guys to do that.

-Having been there, do you think the team has a personal focus on what they really need to do? Or what needs to be tweaked or worked on in the off-season?

Yeah, guys know that they have to come and work on their individual games and you know, I think we do a great job of bringing that together at the start of every season.  We have guys that like to work out together in the summers and I think with the lockout, that’s going to add a little bit more to that.  We’re going to have more guys working out with each other this summer and that’s only going

to help us during the season.

-Speaking of the lockout, do you think there will be a next season?  What are the players vying for in this lockout and what do you think the time table is?

I’m very optimistic about it.  I think that we may miss a few weeks I think, I hope, we miss a few weeks and get right back to playing.  But it’s been tough, the talks have been going slow I think as of late, but I think we’re going to get it back going and you know, have a season.  I don’t want to see us locked out for a long time because that’s not going to hurt just us, but also the fans as well.  So, I really want to have a season for them.

OFF THE COURT

-People ridiculed you lately when they thought you threw Oklahoma City under the bus in an interview, but anyone who follows you

knows you love Oklahoma City. You just signed a 5 year contract with them.  What do you love best about being in Oklahoma?

I just love the people more than anything.  Just how nice and humble they are.  They do a great job of making me feel at home and making everyone feel at home. I just love the atmosphere, especially when we’re playing basketball, just the college feel it has.  I build relationships with the fans that come to every game, season ticket holders, and I just feel like it’s a place that fits me.  It’s a town.  Of course it’s nothing like the L.A.’s or Chicago’s, but it’s nice in the fact that it’s quiet, and you can get places quicker with no traffic.  So, it’s cool for me.

-How soon until we can pick up a bag from the KD backpack line?

Aw man, I wish I could tell you the exact date on that, but it’s going to be out soon.  People are really kind of attracted to the backpack thing and I didn’t know it’d be such a hit, but hopefully you see more kids with backpacks on at school with the KD logo. So, it should be fun.

-One of your hobbies is producing beats and you’ve actually produced tracks for some major artist, any chance we’ll hear one of your beats on an album.

Uhh I doubt it, my beats aren’t that good to be on an album, but I just do it for fun.  It’s something that I always had a passion for, I’ve always loved music.  You know music and basketball kind of parallel I think.  It would be cool to have one of my beats on a big time album, but I have to get better first.

Interview by:  Justine Brown (@justine_brown)

Photos Courtesy of:

Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Image

kevindurant35.com

Nate Billings, The Oklahoman

Getty Images

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