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After the Phoenix Suns defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves on March 29, Kevin Durant spoke with Shams Charania of The Athletic for an exclusive interview.
Durant told Charania that he no longer cares about his NBA “legacy.”
“I don’t care about legacy,” Durant said. “I used to. I used to want to carve out a lane or space in this game for myself that people can remember, but it’s become too much of a thing now. It just becomes too much of a focus on other people. What’s he done, what’s he done? Comparisons. Before, when we wasn’t doing all this debating, I cared about it … I’m about to be in the same breath as these top guys. It was big. Nowadays, I truly, truly don’t care. I truly just want to go out there and produce, be the best that I could be, go home, hang with my family, that’s it.”
Durant is one of the greatest players in NBA history. He’s a two-time champion, two-time Finals MVP, one-time regular-season MVP, four-time scoring champion and 13-time All-Star. The 34-year-old will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer one day.
“Once I left to go to the Warriors (in 2016), I figured any logical thing, when it comes to me it’s out of the window,” Durant said. “When it comes to me, people are not going to think in a logical way or simply look at what I’ve done and say that’s it. They gotta add a narrative to it, they gotta push something to discredit me. Once I left to go to the Warriors, it’s been the gymnastics on how to discredit me every step of the way. It’s like, damn, that’s not even fun no more like engaging with people because y’all aren’t even being truthful. You move the goalpost every time, you expect the most out of me and if I don’t reach it I’m a failure. It’s like, what’s the problem? I don’t throw my s— at people. People want their own experience in the NBA. Their experience is their experience. I can’t say anything. I let it be. When some fan says, ‘KD, I don’t like how you did this.’ I can’t be upset at that. That’s your view and how you look at the league. I just learned how to accept that, move forward and be the best me.”
Kevin Durant on Devin Booker: ‘He’s Evolved Since He Was at Kentucky’
Durant and Devin Booker worked out once last summer. The two superstars already had a relationship before becoming teammates on the Suns.
“I’ve been monitoring Book’s career and following him since he was at Kentucky,” Durant said. “Just his evolution and his growth of his mentality as a player has just been remarkable to see. He can score from every area, knows how to run the point guard and command the offense and us all as well. He’s evolved since he was at Kentucky in a way that I enjoy seeing because he was more so a shooter at Kentucky, and a lot of people didn’t see his full game. A lot of those guys on that team were like that because they were stacked. But once he got to the league, Book showcased his full game and I’ve been following him ever since. It’s good to be on the same team.”
With Durant and Booker leading the way, the Suns have a chance to win it all this season.
Kevin Durant on His Title Window: ‘I Take It One Day at a Time’
Durant takes everything one day at a time, so he doesn’t pay attention to his “title window” since he’s living in the moment.
“I take it one day at a time,” Durant said. “I don’t even look at windows. I’m not talking about championships. I’m focused on: How can we be great, how can we maximize every day.”
Durant is averaging 29.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists on the season with the Brooklyn Nets and Suns.
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Suns’ Kevin Durant Gets Brutally Honest About His NBA ‘Legacy’