Up In The Air: Kevin Durant Gives Fresh Look At Next Phase Of NBA Life On All The Smoke
/
Kevin Durant joined Matt Barnes and a Wooter-clad Stephen Jackson on Episode 14 of All The Smoke, where the rehabbing Brooklyn Nets’ star spoke openly about navigating the realities of professional sports and what he’s learned throughout his tedious NBA comeback.
Even before the audio and cameras started to roll in the studio, you could tell this three-man weave was going to finish strong.
Settling slowly into the burgundy leather sofa on the latest airing of All The Smoke with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, Episode 14 flowed smoothly from the jump with Barnes and Jackson lobbing Kevin Durant rapid questions on everything from the NBA life, to navigating social media, expanding his business and basketball mindset, to anxiously counting down the days until his eventual debut with the Brooklyn Nets (and he’s not the only one).
“I am doing everything I can to get back on the floor. You have to switch your focus a little bit,” Durant said while opening up about his past from Seattle, Oklahoma City, and with the Golden State Warriors to writing a new chapter in Brooklyn since last July’s free agency frenzy.
“I have learned so much within this time that I can apply to this next phase.”
For Durant, that gradual development includes being able to control both the narrative of his story and how he is viewed in the limelight of being a professional athlete destined for the National Basketball Hall of Fame one day. These days, even being a two-time NBA MVP has its obstacles as Durant sits out the entire 2019-20 season after suffering a grueling Achilles tendon injury in the 2019 NBA Finals. Soon enough Kevin Durant will go from sharing the couch to running the court with Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan.
Until the, KD is right where he needs to be.
The candidly raw video podcast interview (complete with Jackson sporting a customized All The Smoke bomber jacket from Wooter Apparel) was the latest in a string of talks featured on Showtime Basketball that have previously included the late Kobe Bryant (a fitting tribute Kobe to open Episode 14), Steph Curry, Dwayne Wade, and Lou Williams. Yet its the openness sitting alongside two former 14-year NBA vets that allows listeners the chance to look beyond the haze of mere social media chatter and sheds light on how KD views the shape of his own legacy in the league.
“I feel like my game can translate through eras,” Durant said when asked how he would have gelled playing with Seattle Sonic greats like Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp.
“That would have been tough. That’s when I start looking at myself a little differently. I could have starred on that team with the Sonics or I could star with a couple of teams back in the 90’s. I feel my game can translate across eras.”
