Newsletter

All eyes on KD | Bleacher report

The footage is insignificant, shot in standard definition, capturing a slightly random moment. It shows nothing that suggests that Kevin Durant will return to full strength and nothing that suggests he won’t.

All it shows is Durant dripping slowly, crossing to the left, running, jumping from both feet and crushing. It doesn’t say “I’m back.” It doesn’t say “I’m in the best shape of my life.” For anxious NBA fans, the tape does nothing. What he does is work to slow things down, to give the viewer a sense of the moment. “Put down your swords and your warm grips,” he says, “for at least six seconds. Remember Kevin Durant.”

Remember Kevin Durant? No scorer has been more frightening since June 2019: no player was more suited to leading the modern era of basketball, demanding offensive precision and defensive ability from everyone on the field. The video makes you or me lose, however, KD. And how often is someone missing something in the NBA?

This is the league in which nobody ever has to wait. The ball is scored and bounced immediately. The finals end and the draft begins. The draft ends and the free agency begins. One player is traded and 10 others react on Twitter. There is action at 3 in the morning, on rest days, during periods specifically labeled as late payment (definition: “a waiting period”), even during a pandemic. On and off the pitch, basketball is about speed. It is inexorable. Durant himself has often contested.

“I’m trying to play basketball,” once She said. He was five months away from the free agency, but we wanted him to comment now. “Come here every day, ask me about the free agency, ask my teammates, my coaches. Gather fans about it. Let’s play basketball. “


Thirty teams, 30 days: The greatest history of each NBA team before the return of the championship.

Atl | Bos Bkn | Cha | you Cle
From | The | It | GS | Keep | Ind
LAC | LAL | Mem | Mia | Mil | min
NO | NY | OKC | Orl | Phi | Pho
Por | Bag | SA | Tor | Uta | What


Often, Durant has been frustrated by this churn, the circus that distracts from sport and immediately supports him. He said: “Being relevant in the eyes of the fans does not make the ball go into the basket.” He tweeted to journalist Chris Broussard, a replacement for the sky-high voice industry, “Cap cap cap …. you don’t have my mannnnn number.”

Lately, this has calmed down. Part of this has to do with the fact that Durant is still remodeling his Achilles, which he tore during the June finals. His contract, a four-year pact, also helps keep him out of superteam fantasies. Above all, however, the COVID-19 suspension of the league and the social movements that sweep the world have made discussions on GOATs and the maximum space allowed deeply irrelevant.

Many players, including Durant, have shifted their focus to social issues. After the killing of George Floyd, Durant conducted a rare interview, speaking with Marc J. Spears by The Undefeated. Of the nightmare video depicting Floyd’s death, Durant said, “It is harmful to see another life being taken away from us. Someone with a family. Someone who was a father. A son. A friend. It was horrible to see , especially from people who are supposed to protect us. We really have to feel like we are safe everywhere. “Of the black community’s response, he added:” I have seen the care, love and attention we have as a community. With all that is going on right now, it makes me very proud. We have many things on our backs, but we keep on fighting. It is nice to see all those who come together at this moment for what we all believe in, which is equality ”.

Durant also discussed the COVID-19 pandemic; in March, Durant himself contracted the virus. (It was asymptomatic and completely recovered, as he told Spears.) “It’s so suddenly,” he said. “It is difficult to explain how quickly everything is [happened] and how we had to quarantine our homes. He made us all adapt. Moving forward, things will change and we will adapt. It is a strange moment. It is difficult to explain to anyone. “

In May, Durant released a documentary, Basketball County: In the Water, his hometown of Prince George’s County, Maryland, and the basketball talent he produced. Last month he bought an MLS team, the Philadelphia Union.

Rumormongers knocked on his door once this spring – asking if he would return from injury to play in the NBA Orlando Bubble League – and He answered, simply: “My season is over”. So direct, so open and closed, so a-NBA!

All we can work with is that fuzzy training video, courtesy of an Instagram story published by his brother Tony.

There is something in its simplicity that I love. For Durant, it is the perfect form of communication. It’s just basketball and basketball, eliminating any debate-show conversation about his injury, his career and his team. Of course, over time, everything will revolve around again.

Come in December, when the 2020-21 season should go down, Durant will return to the ground. Her co-star, Kyrie Irving, who underwent shoulder surgery in March, will also be ready. Questions abound. Will a third star join them? (Bradley Beal? Aaron Gordon?) Will Jacque Vaughn still be the coach? (Ty Lue? Jason Kidd?) Can Durant play 100 percent? How will it go with Irving? Whose team is it? Will the nets also exist in the NBA, or will players chase Irving’s alleged dream of a new league of players? Speaking of: Did that call really happen? Was Durant online? What did you think?

Questions for another day. Inevitably, Durant will have to face them at some point, much to his displeasure. But for now, there are only five modest claims to consider: slow dribbling, a move to the left, a dive on the edge, a jump, a strong ending. So be it.

Leo Sepkowitz joined B / R Mag in 2018. Previously, he was Senior Writer at SLAM magazine. You can follow him on Twitter: @LeoSepkowitz.

.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending