Kevin Durant

Full Name: Kevin Wayne Durant	Current Team: Seattle Supersonics
Height/Weight: 6'9"/215	Number: 35
Birthdate: September 29, 1988	Entry Draft: 1st round (2nd) in 2007
Birthplace: Washington, D.C.	Drafted By: Seattle Supersonics
Position: SG	College: University of Texas (Austin)

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1 Biography
2 Transactions
3 Statistics
- 3.1 Totals
- 3.2 Per Game
4 Awards and Accomplishments
5 Video Gallery
6 Picture Gallery
7 See Also
- 7.1 Web Directory
- 7.2 Recent Kevin Durant ArmchairGM Stories
8 Categories

[edit] Biography

Kevin Wayne Durant (born September 29, 1988 in Menominee, MI, but moved to Washington, D.C. at the early age of 3) is an American professional basketball player for the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics. A 6'9" shooting guard/small forward, Durant was the consensus 2007 National College Player of the Year, in addition to being selected as the 2006-2007 Big 12 Player of the Year, amongst other awards. After his freshman season at the University of Texas[11], Durant opted to enter the NBA Draft,where he was selected second overall. Durant's older brother, Tony Durant, is a junior forward for Towson University. Durant signed an endorsement contract with Nike in 2007[12] and wears size 18 shoes.

[edit] High School

A basketball player from his earliest days, Durant played for a successful Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) youth basketball team in the PG Jaguars. The Jaguars won multiple national championships with Durant and fellow future blue chip recruits Michael Beasley (Kansas State) and Chris Braswell (Georgetown). Durant wore, and continues to wear, the #35 jersey in honor of his childhood mentor and AAU coach, Charles Craig, who was murdered at age 35. Durant later moved on to play AAU basketball with fellow McDonald's All American Tywon Lawson (North Carolina) for the DC Blue Devils. During this time Durant also starred for the Montrose Christian School in Rockville, Maryland. At Montrose, Durant led the team in scoring and was named the 2006 All-Met Player of the Year in Boys' Basketball by The Washington Post. Vetter described Durant as a hard working player, complete with size, shooting skills and ball handling skills. Durant also was named a McDonald's All American and named as co-MVP of the 2006 McDonald's All American game along with Chase Budinger. Behind Greg Oden, Durant was widely regarded as the second-best high school prospect

[edit] College

A 6'9" (without shoes) small forward with a 7'4¾" wingspan[19], Durant was one of four freshman starters for the University of Texas basketball team. Durant started in all 35 games of the season, which culminated with a loss in the second round of the NCAA tournament to University of Southern California. Texas finished third in the conference, with a 12-4 record and was the runner-up in the 2007 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament.

Durant was widely hailed by the media as the Big 12's top freshman and a top candidate to be named Freshman of the Year. He averaged 25.8 points per game and 11.1 rebounds per game during his freshman season with the Texas Longhorns. In Big 12 matches he averaged 28.9 points per game and 12.5 rebounds. His college career high for scoring was 37 points, which he has achieved on four occasions. Durant had twenty 30-point games his freshman year, including a losing effort against Kansas for the regular season Big 12 title.

In March 2007, Durant was named the NABC Division I Player of the Year, and received the Oscar Robertson Trophy and the Adolph F. Rupp Trophy, becoming the first freshman to win each of these awards. On March 30, 2007, he was selected as the Associated Press college player of the year, becoming the first freshman and the first Texas athlete to receive this award since its inception in 1961. On April 1, 2007 he became the first freshman to receive the Naismith Award and on April 7, 2007, won the John R. Wooden Award.

In late February 2007, Durant received an invitation to the Team USA Basketball training camp, becoming the second freshman after Oden to achieve this. Less than a week after being drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics, The University of Texas announced the retirement of Durant's #35 jersey. The number will now hang in the rafters at the Frank Erwin Center along with the #11 of former Longhorn great T. J. Ford.

[edit] NBA

Durant declared himself eligible for the 2007 NBA Draft on April 11, 2007 and signed his first professional contract on May 25 with the Upper Deck, Co., who later heralded Durant to be the focus of their 2007-08 NBA trading card line. Durant was also announced as the coverboy of the new NCAA March Madness 2008 video game by EA Sports.

On June 28, 2007, Durant was taken second overall in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics. In the proceeding month, Durant went on to sign a seven year, $60 million endorsement deal with Nike - a rookie deal only surpassed by LeBron James' contract with Nike. In doing so, Durant reportedly turned down a potential $70 million contract with Adidas, opting for Nike since he had worn them all his life.

On October 31, 2007, Durant made his NBA debut with 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals in a loss to the Denver Nuggets. On November 16, 2007 Durant made his first game winning shot of his NBA career with a key 3-pointer to beat the Atlanta Hawks in double overtime. Durant finished with 21 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks. On November 30, 2007, Durant scored a career high 35 points to beat the Indiana Pacers.

To date, Durant has been lauded as the stand-out NBA Rookie of the Year, averaging 19 points and 4 rebounds per game. In addition to leading all rookies in scoring for the season, he was named the NBA Rookie of the Month for November and December (2007), and January (2008)