Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Standing Ovation: Kevin Durant

Perhaps it's because I love it when athletes rise to the occasion and legitimize our diehard rooting interests.  Or perhaps it's just because I've been listening to Rihanna's "Take a Bow" on repeat for the past three weeks and feel compelled to give somebody a standing ovation.  Either way, today the honor goes to Kevin Durant.


I love KD because the man is only 23 years old, but he definitely has his head on straight.  You could spend days listing all of his basketball accolades, but he always puts his team first.  Back in the summer of 2010, while LeBron James was busy hyping the world for "The Decision" on July 8, Kevin Durant quietly signed a 5-year contract extension with the Oklahoma City Thunder on July 7.  On top of all that, he interacts with fans and gives back to the community.

But okay, I'll get to the point.  The reason for this standing ovation is because with 7:38 left in the 4th quarter of this past week's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Durant drove to the hoop for a dunk and a foul.  It was an amazing play in a tight game in and of itself, but then Kevin spotted a young kid in the first row repping his jersey, so he took the time to give him some dap.

If you know me, you know that I'm a big proponent of athletes being down to earth, and KD clearly made this kid's day, if not his life.  It's a moment he'll never forget.  Check out the video evidence below (1:43-2:23) and try to convince me that the young'un isn't the happiest child in Minneapolis right now.  [Update: original video was taken down by ESPN, but this new video should do the trick.]


Vegas has set the line at three years for the next time the fan washes his hand -- I'm taking the over.

Photo and video courtesy of Glenn James/NBAE/Getty Images and YouTube

4 comments:

I think the minute I started to really love KD is when I found out the dude comes back to UT to train with the bball team during the summer and sleeps on an air mattress in a player's apartment. is that cheap or down to earth? either way, i'm a fan for life.

When you love playing basketball like Durant does, everything else just doesn't seem to matter as much. I loved that during the lockout he just went around the country playing ball because he enjoys it and not because he gets paid.

Update: original video was taken down by ESPN, but this new video should do the trick. So happy for the kid.

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