Kevin Durant Opens Up About Iconic Praise From Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant
The Nets superstar forward Kevin Durant has received countless praise throughout his 16-year NBA career. To Durant, those comments motivate him on the hardwood night in and night out.
In an NBA TV interview with 3-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford, the two revisited soundbites from the late Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan talking about Durant's play and the footprint he is leaving on the game of basketball.
"It still gives me chills to this day," Durant told Jamal Crawford. "I played for that validation from my peers. I feel like I'm playing to shift the game forward and I respect what they've put into the game. It's only right for me to live up to that standard every day. I want them to say, 'Oh, you're doing it the right way.'
"Especially guys like Kob, MJ, you, Bron, Melo, all the guys I watched, T-Mac. The people that watch my game and have been watching me since I came into the league. For them to give me that respect, that's like a championship to me. We're a brotherhood. We're all connected somehow just because we put in that work and made it to this level. I feel like I'm representing all of y'all every time I step on the floor. I like when I hear that from my peers."
Durant, who is 16th all-time on the NBA's all-time scoring list, has always been very complimentary of players who played the game before and with him on the floor throughout his career.
Earlier this month, Orlando Magic head coach Steve Clifford compared the 34-year-old to Bryant. Durant thanked Clifford, who was a player consultant with the Nets last season, for the praise and spoke on the impact the late Los Angeles Lakers legend, along with Jordan, have on his game.
"It's hard to fill them shoes and to be a Kobe Bryant. Kob is someone I've been around and still study to this day. Basically, I try to copy everything he does,” said Durant postgame on Dec. 7. “The same with Michael Jordan. Those two guys set the tone for everything we want to be as a basketball player. I simply try to copy them as much as I can.
"I guess that showed to Cliff [Steve Clifford], and I enjoy being around him a lot. We talked a lot about the game of basketball I'm sure he can hear that in my voice how much I enjoy that dialogue about the game. It's pretty cool to hear man. I love Cliff."
