Kevin Durant

BIOGRAPHY

Kevin Durant was born on September 29, 1988, in Washington, D.C. He is a small forward in the NBA.

Durant was a basketball prodigy as a youth, becoming one of the best prospects in the thriving Washington, D.C.-area basketball scene by his early years in high school and an All-American in his senior season. He attended the University of Texas, where as a freshman he led the Big 12 Conference in scoring average (25.8 points per game), rebounding average (11.1 rebounds per game), and blocked shots (67). He was also a first-team All-American and the first freshman to earn consensus national College Player of the Year honours. He elected to end his college career after just one season and was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics with the second overall pick of the 2007 NBA draft.

Durant was the lone bright spot in Seattle during his rookie campaign, as the team’s new owners demanded a publicly funded arena that the city refused to finance, and the team’s threat to relocate to another city kept fans away in droves. Durant averaged 20.3 points per game that season and was the runaway winner of the NBA Rookie of the Year award. His dynamic play could not heal the rift between the team and the city, however, and at season’s end the Sonics moved to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder. The relocation had no noticeable effect on Durant as he increased his scoring, rebounding, assists, and steals averages in his second season. He began a streak of five straight All-Star Game appearances and first-team All-NBA honours during the 2009–10 season, when he also led the Thunder to the franchise’s first playoff appearance in its new home. In 2011–12 the Thunder—behind Durant’s 28.5 points per game in the postseason—advanced to the NBA finals, where the team lost to the Miami Heat in a five-game series.

Durant proved to be an increasingly difficult matchup as he honed his outside game—Durant could shoot over or run past post defenders and tower over smaller guards. Beginning with the 2009–10 season, the dynamic Durant led the NBA in total points for five straight seasons and in scoring average four times (he finished second in 2012–13). In his dominant 2013–14 MVP season, he set career highs of 32 points and 5.5 assists per game (along with 7.4 rebounds per contest). The following season saw Durant play in just 27 games because of a fracture in his right foot and a troubled recovery process. He returned to form in 2015–16, averaging 28.2 points per game and a career-high 8.2 rebounds per contest that season. In the playoffs, Durant led the Thunder to a 3–1 series lead in the conference finals over the Golden State Warriors, who had set an NBA record during the regular season by amassing 73 victories, but Oklahoma City ultimately lost the series in seven games. During the following off-season, Durant shocked the NBA by leaving the Thunder in free agency to sign with the Warriors.

In 2016–17, playing on the most talented team of his career, Durant continued to thrive with the Warriors, scoring 25.1 points per game while helping Golden State post the most wins in the league (67). The Warriors then set an NBA record by opening the postseason with 12 straight victories en route to a Western Conference title. The team’s dominance continued in the NBA finals, as the Warriors lost just one game to the Cleveland Cavaliers en route to capturing the league championship. Durant averaged 35.2 points per game in the finals and was named finals MVP for his performance.

Durant averaged 26.4 points and a career-high 1.8 blocks per game during the 2017–18 regular season. He once again excelled in the playoffs, leading the Warriors to another NBA title with a sweep of the Cavaliers. His stellar play in the finals—he averaged 28.7 points per game—earned Durant his second finals MVP award.

Durant had another dominant regular season in 2018–19, averaging 26 points per game and earning his 10th consecutive All-Star honors. In Game 6 of the first round against the Clippers, he set a new playoff career high with 50 points in a 129–110 win to close out the series. During Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Houston Rockets, Durant suffered a right calf strain, subsequently missing Game 6, in which the Warriors won the series, as well as the entire Western Conference Finals against the Portland Trail Blazers, which the Warriors won in a four-game sweep. After missing nine games with the strained right calf, Durant returned to action in Game 5 of the 2019 finals against the Toronto Raptors, and scored 11 points in the first quarter. However, he was lost for the game two minutes into the second quarter when he tried to drive by former teammate Serge Ibaka and suffered an Achilles tendon injury, falling and grabbing his lower right calf. He limped off the court and was helped to the locker room. The Warriors won the game to cut the Raptors' series lead to 3–2. The Warriors went on to lose the NBA Finals in Game 6, ending their quest for a three-peat.

In addition to his NBA career, Durant was a member of the U.S. men’s national basketball team that captured a gold medal at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games.

On June 30, Durant announced that he planned to sign with the Brooklyn Nets. On July 1, Golden State CEO Joe Lacob announced that Durant's No. 35 will no longer be issued by the Warriors.

Durant officially signed with Brooklyn on July 7, 2019, in a sign-and-trade deal. On December 22, 2020, Durant made his Nets debut. On August 8, 2021, Durant signed a four-year, $198 million extension with the Brooklyn Nets.

On February 9th, 2023, Kevin Durant was traded to the Suns in a blockbuster deal.

Basketball isn't Durant's only love. When he's not on the court, you might find him recording in the music studio in his basement. He has even recorded a song with Lebron James, titled "It Aint Easy". Durant has also found his place on the big screen. You can catch him starring in the hit family movie "Thunderstruck".