Kevin Wayne Durant (born September 29, 1988), also known by his initials KD, is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in NBA history,[1][2][3][4][5] Durant has won two NBA championships, an NBA Most Valuable Player Award, two Finals MVP Awards, two NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Awards, four NBA scoring titles, the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, been named to 11 All-NBA teams (including six First Teams), and selected 14 times as an NBA All-Star. In 2021, Durant was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
Durant was a heavily recruited high school prospect widely regarded as the second-best player in his class. He played one season of college basketball for the Texas Longhorns, where he won numerous year-end awards and became the first freshman to be named Naismith College Player of the Year. Durant was selected as the second overall pick by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 2007 NBA draft. He played nine seasons with the franchise (which became the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2008) and led them to a Finals appearance in 2012. He later signed with the Golden State Warriors in 2016, who won a record 73 regular season games the previous year. Durant won consecutive NBA championships and NBA Finals MVP Awards in 2017 and 2018. After sustaining an Achilles injury in the 2019 NBA Finals, Durant joined the Brooklyn Nets as a free agent that summer. Following disagreements with the Nets' front office, he requested a trade during the 2022 offseason and was traded to the Suns the following year.
As a member of the U.S. men's national team, Durant has won four gold medals in the Olympics (2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024), and is the leading scorer in Team USA's Olympic basketball history. In 2024, he became the first male athlete to win four Olympics gold medals in a team sport.[6][7][8] He also won gold at the 2010 FIBA World Championship. Durant is the only player in basketball history with MVPs in the NBA, Olympics and World Cup.
Off the court, Durant is one of the highest-earning basketball players in the world, due in part to endorsement deals with companies such as Foot Locker and Nike. He has developed a reputation for philanthropy and regularly leads the league in All-Star votes and jersey sales. In 2018, Durant was among Time's 100 most influential people in the world. In recent years, he has contributed to The Players' Tribune as both a photographer and writer.
- ^ Martin, Gus (July 23, 2020). "Ranking The Top 10 Pure Scorers In NBA History". Fadeaway World. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
- ^ Cohen, Ben (2021). "Kevin Durant Is The Best Player in the NBA Again". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
- ^ Zagoria, Adam (2021). "Nets' Kevin Durant Earns Praise As 'Best Player In The World' After 'Historic' Triple-Double In Game 5". Forbes. Archived from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
- ^ Devine, Dan (2021). "Kevin Durant Re-stakes His Claim As the Greatest Hooper Alive". The Ringer. Archived from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
- ^ Medina, Mark (2023). "LeBron James calls Kevin Durant 'One of the best ever'". The Sporting Tribune. Archived from the original on December 2, 2023. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
- ^ "U.S. men's basketball team takes fifth-straight gold medal after win over France in Paris at 2024 Olympics". NBC New York. August 10, 2024. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
- ^ "Kevin Durant becomes first four-time gold medalist in men's Olympic basketball". Basket News. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
- ^ "Kevin Durant Wins Historic 4th Gold Medal for USA vs. France at 2024 Paris Olympics". Bleacher Report. Retrieved August 10, 2024.