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Birth and Early Life
Kevin Durant was born on September 29, 1988 in Suitland, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C. He is one of four children of Wanda and Wayne Pratt. He got tall very fast and was often teased by his classmates for being the tallest in his class. His grandmother was a strong influence by telling him that his height was a blessing and that there was nothing to be ashamed about. He started AAU ball at age 11 and won two national championships. https://www.biography.com -
College Career
Kevin received offers from top Division 1 colleges after growing to a height of 6'9" and having a great high school career. He ended up choosing to play for the Texas Longhorns. Durant started in every game during his freshman year of college, averaging 25.8 points per game and 11 rebounds per game in 35 games. As a freshman, Durant received the Oscar Robertson and the Adolph F. Rupp awards. He was the first freshman to win both honors. He declared for the NBA draft https://www.biography.com -
Draft Day
Kevin Durant was chosen 2nd overall in the 2007 draft by the Seattle Supersonics. Around that same time, Durant signed a $60 million, seven-year endorsement deal with Nike, a major deal at the time. Durant averaged more than 20 points per game in his first season, earning the NBA's Rookie of the Year Award. Soon after the season ended, the Seattle Supersonics relocated to Oklahoma City and became known as the Thunder. https://www.biography.com -
All Star
Kevin Durant was emerging as the face of the franchise and was chosen as a 2010 all star. He averaged 30.1 points per game, along with 7.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Although his team wasn't very successful this year, he proved that he was a great young talent in the league. In the all star game, he played with and against very good players in the NBA. He showed what he could do against talent like that as a young star. https://herosports.com -
Playing Internationally
As Durant developed into more of a star, he was introduced with the honor to play in the FIBA world championships. He was named the 2010 FIBA World Championship MVP by the International Basketball Federation. He also got the honor to play under Coach K with the USA basketball team during the 2012 summer olympics in London. They brought home the gold medal in this event. http://www.espn.com -
First NBA Finals Appearance
After earning his first All Star selection in 2010, Kevin Durant was bound for making an appearance in the NBA finals. During the 2012 season Durant enjoyed team success with the up-and-coming Thunder, pairing with explosive point guard Russell Westbrook and a very good shooting guard, James Harden. These young standout teammates made the NBA finals during the season, but ended up falling short to Lebron James and the Miami Heat in a 5 game series. https://www.biography.com -
NBA MVP
After finishing 2nd to Lebron James in the previous two years, Durant finally won the MVP award. He had a dominant 2013-14 season averaging a career-high 32 points, 7.4 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game. This award was a no brainer for peers and fans to give to Durant who was proving how good he can really be at his best. https://www.biography.com -
The Trade to Golden State
On this date, Kevin Durant made big waves in both social media and the NBA by announcing his signing with the Golden State Warriors. This was also just shortly after the Thunder got knocked out of the playoffs to the warriors in the conference championship. Durant took a lot of heat for the decision, with critics calling him "soft" for joining an already loaded team, but it proved to be a winning move. http://www.espn.com -
First Ring
Durant led the Warriors to victory over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA finals, scoring 39 points in the Game 5 clincher to cement Golden State's second championship in three years. He also averaged 35.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 5.4 assists throughout the series, earning finals MVP honors for his performance. https://www.biography.com -
Second Ring
In just a year after Durant and the Warriors won their last championship, they would play for one again. In the early rounds of the playoffs, Steph Curry got hurt so Kevin had to carry his team all the way through the playoffs to get to the finals. Once Curry got back to full strength, the team was unstoppable. They ended up sweeping Lebron and the Cavaliers and won their 3rd title in 4 years. https://www.biography.com
