Michael Lee of The Washington Post recently had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Thunder star Kevin Durant. Even though he's yet to turn 24, Durant says he's ready to take his game to the next level and dominate the league. Here are a few highlights from the conversation:
On where he's at in his career and how he sees himself within the league:
“I’ve heard a few times, in three or four years, this league is going to be yours. . . . I don’t like that. Because I think I’m established now. My time is now. I feel as though I’ve proved myself these last five years that I can be one of the top players in the league. I’ve got a long way to go to being the ultimate best, but I think my time is now. And I’m starting to enter my prime.”
On what it was like to play with the top players in the world during the Olympics:
“I always felt that I belonged on top with those guys and I just have to continue to keep working to maintain that. It feels good to be a part of a great group of guys, to do something special for the country. We all respected each other and they never looked at me as the younger guy coming up and waiting his turn. They were just, ‘Go out there and play, do what you do.’ And that’s what I did.”
On his decision to make a movie during the NBA lockout last summer:
“The thing that I was more concerned about is that I was just so shy. I didn’t want to look dumb. [My mom] told me don’t worry about that. You can’t let other people dictate how you live. She gave me a whole little speech. I said, ‘Why not?’ I want people to see another side of me that they don’t see on the basketball court."
On what not winning a championship would mean for his career:
“I’m not going to let people define my career as a player thus far if I don’t win a championship. They are going to say I’m a bust or I flopped or that I didn’t have a good career in the NBA because I didn’t win a championship in the time that they wanted me to do it? I’m just going to keep enjoying what I’m doing and hopefully I get there sooner than later.”