A Look Back at Kevin Durant's Famous MVP Speech
By now, most are familiar with the famous speech Kevin Durant gave almost a decade ago after winning the MVP award.
He posted an incredible campaign during the 2013-14 season in which he led the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 54-28 record on the back of 32 points per game on 63.5% true shooting. If you aren’t familiar, get familiar because it is a joy to listen to what the former Thunder star had to say.
At the beginning of the award ceremony, when Durant was announced as the winner, the skinny, 6-foot-10 forward — wearing a suit that was probably a bit small for him — stood up and walked towards the podium to accept the trophy and began his speech by saying, “I’m usually good at talking, but I’m a little nervous today.”
Durant then opened up to talk about where he came from, how he grew up, and how his dream was to become a coach in a recreational league and help kids out. He shared how he thought he never would make it to college, or the NBA, or let alone win the award, before exclaiming, “So many people believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself.”
“When you got people behind you, you can do whatever,” remarked Durant after sharing with the audience that Caron Butler, who had just signed with the Thunder a few weeks ago, left a note that read “KD MVP” in his locker. Durant then characterized Russell Westbrook by saying he’s “an emotional guy who will run through a wall for me and I don’t take it for granted.”
Then, Durant, with tears building in his eyes, turned his attention to his mother who was in the crowd, saying “I don’t think you know what you did.”
Then, speaking directly to her as if everyone else had suddenly disappeared, Durant reminded her of just how far she, and her sons, had come. “The odds were stacked against us. Single parent with two boys by the time you were 21 years old,” Durant said.
Durant shared his fondest memories of his mother, remembering the first apartment they moved into and how they had no bed nor furniture. He remembered his mother waking him up in the middle of the night to make him run up hills and do push-ups and cheering him on during his games when he was still just a boy.
“We weren’t supposed to be here. You made us believe. You kept us off the street, put clothes on our backs, food on the table. When you didn’t eat, you made sure we ate. You went to sleep hungry. You sacrificed for us. You the real MVP."
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