Collecting Shoes from the Greats Around the League

kdlabel

What’s good everyone? Just checking in from the road. We’re in the middle of a four-game road trip right now. We’re 2-0 so far on the trip with wins in Atlanta and Minnesota. We play at Memphis on Friday and head to Cleveland to face LeBron and the Cavs on Saturday. This should be a great test for us.

Anyway, I know the last time I blogged about my new KD2 sneakers that are on sale right now, and that had me thinking about all the sneakers I’ve collected over the years from a ton of great player in this league.

I’m not sure what got me started on that. To be honest with you, I’m such a fan of different players that I’d rather ask for shoes or game-worn stuff than autographs. Some players have done their best to give them to me and they’re always happy to do so. I’m just a big fan of shoes and seeing guys wear different shoes.

So far I’ve collected Kobe’s, Joe Johnson’s, Andrei Kirilenko, O.J. Mayo, Rudy Gay, Deron Williams, Gerald Wallace. I’ve also got LeBron’s shoes. He autographed them for my little brother. So I’ve got a lot of guys. I’ve got some autographed, too. I’ve got Kobe’s autographed shoes – something a lot of people can’t say they have. I’ve also got Joe Johnson’s autographed. Players are really cordial. If I ask a player for shoes, an autograph or a jersey they do it right away.

My first ones were Kobe’s. He wore Huaraches, old Huaraches. It was during one of my rookie games and I was at the free throw line and I was like, ‘man, I like those. Can you sign them for me?’ He’s like, ‘yeah, I got you.’ So he sent them over to me. I thought he would have forgotten but he sent them right over to me after the game. I was kind of excited.

I just keep them all in a box in my closet for right now. But once I settle on a house situation and buy a house out here I’m going to have a room just for them.

I collected sneakers up until last season. Really, I just forgot about it, so that’s the only reason why I stopped collecting them. But I think I’m about to start again because there’s so many new shoes coming out this year.

Oh yeah, and for all the sneakers I’ve collected from different players, I’ve actually had a few players ask me for mine. Ron Artest asked me for mine in my first rookie preseason game. A couple of other guys have asked me for them. That’s an honor, too, when people want your sneakers.

If you could get game-worn sneakers from any player in the league, who would it be, retired players or current ones? Let me know in my comments section. Talk to you guys soon.

durantsignature

Fans: Be sure to check out Kevin on Twitter and Facebook.

Talking College Hoops

kdlabel

What’s good everyone? We’re in Denver for our game against the Nuggets tonight. We had a tough loss against LeBron and the Cavs last night. It would have been good to get that one at home, but now it’s time to move on to the next one.

College hoops is back in full swing, so how about we talk about some college hoops today?

Don’t tell Russell this, but I always wanted to go to UCLA. I don’t know why. I always wanted to go to UCLA. That was a dream of mine. And once I started to get recruited, I was like, I hope UCLA calls. That’s where I wanted to go. But it didn’t turn out that way because they didn’t think I’d go all the way to the West Coast. But that’s the school I always liked. I liked watching them. I liked their colors. That kind of drew me to them as well. I was a big UCLA fan – the O’Bannons, Baron Davis, Earl Watson; I was a big Earl Watson fan, believe it or not.

Growing up near D.C., my godfather’s brother used to work at the MCI Center (now the Verizon Center), where Georgetown played their home games. He would get us $10 tickets to see Georgetown play, and I would go a lot when I was in high school. I would go to any game no matter if they were playing Coastal Carolina or Pittsburgh. I just liked to watch. That’s where I started to see the different type of players develop into what we have now in the NBA, so that was good to go back then and kind of get a dose of the game and learn different parts of the game.

Now, with me and my Thunder teammates, since a lot of us aren’t too removed from college, we like to have bragging rights. I think my team is doing the best out of everybody so far. We’re number 2 in the country. Actually Nick’s team is doing the best, Kansas, they’re Number 1, we’re Number 2 and I think we’re going to have a battle at the end of the year, Kansas versus Texas at the end of the year, so we’ll see how that turns out.

I think the biggest surprise this season is UCLA not doing as good as they usually do, so we get to talk trash to Russ a little bit.

As far as Texas goes, my Longhorns are talented. I spent all summer there working with those guys. This is the most talented team that we’ve had at Texas and I’ve watched teams before that went to the Final Four and the Elite Eight, and this is the most talented team there. It’s just a matter of them putting everything together. They’re such a good team and they can do a lot on the floor. The chemistry is there, they just have to get the experience. These first couple of games is where the young guys start to feel their way around and see how they need to play and the difference between high school and college, so it looks like they’re going to be pretty good.

Look out for Avery Bradley. He’s a freshman that’s pretty good. So is our center Dexter Pittman. We’ve also got a guy from Turkey named Dogus Balbay, who’s pretty good. I like his game a lot. And Damion James is kind of like the heart and soul, our leader. They’ve been playing very well. They’ve got a tough test coming up against North Carolina, so we’re going to see how they fare out there.

I’m also a big fan of John Wall…a big fan! I had the privilege to watch him in the Jordan Classic last year after the season. He was such a humble kid, always talked about getting better and always put his teammates first. And that’s what I liked, especially at a young age. Seventeen, 18 year old kids always thinking about ‘all me’ and ‘I need to score’ and ‘I need to do this’ but he was always team first and very humble and that’s going to bring him a long way. He’s talented, man. I’m in love with his game.

As far as who else impresses me in college basketball, I’m a big guy on being versatile, so I’m a big Evan Turner fan. He’s a 6-7 point guard for Ohio State. I like his game, but he’s hurt. He’s had two triple doubles this season already. He hurt his back so he’s out for a while but he’s been putting up numbers, I think averaging a double-double with six assists. That’s rare in college but I like his game.

In terms of teams, Kentucky’s good, of course. North Carolina’s got a young team. Kansas is pretty good. Cole Aldridge, I think, is probably the best young center in the country. There’s a couple good teams out there. You also can’t forget about the sleepers like Butler, Western Kentucky and teams like that.

Lately I’ve been following John Wall’s schedule because they play on TV a lot. I call it “The John Wall Show.” That’s the only team that I’ve really watched a lot. I haven’t really gotten a chance to see my Horns play on TV because we’ve maybe games and practice whenever they’re on, but of course I’m going to follow Texas. But every time John Wall’s on TV I make sure I tune in.

Man, I can talk about college basketball all day! So who are your favorite college teams and players? Who should I look out for this season? And who do you guys think are good enough to be National Champs? Let me know in the comments section.

Also, make sure to watch us take on Melo and the Nuggets tonight in Denver. I’ll be back with more posts later this week.

durantsignature

Fans: Be sure to check out Kevin on Twitter and Facebook.

voteside

Just Checking In

kdlabel

What’s going on everybody? I know it’s been a while since I checked in with you guys, but as you can see me and my Thunder teammates have been pretty busy lately.

We got a big win last night against the Grizzlies. I’m proud of us for not breaking down. Last year I think we would have backed down and fell into a corner after they took the lead and went up five, but we pushed back at them. It was a tough third quarter for us. I think we scored maybe eight or 10 points and that’s tough. Some teams don’t bounce back from that. But the first half, we played a good first half and we played a good fourth quarter. There’s going to be times when we have tough stretches like that and there’s going to be times when we bounce back from it and continue to stick with our plan and be poised.

And we don’t have much time to enjoy this one because we’ve got the Cavs coming to town tomorrow. Man, every day I look forward to every single game. Every game is a big game for us and I look forward to it. And trust me, the Cavs are much more than just Shaq and LeBron. Don’t get me wrong, those players are great Hall of Fame players but they’re more than just Shaq and LeBron. It’s going to be a tough test for us but we’re looking forward to it.

I talk to LeBron every now and then. I know he’s busy with his season and I really don’t want to bother him too much but I talk to him. As much advice as I can get from him I try to so he’s been a great friend to me. I’ve also got my friend from Texas on the Cavs, Daniel Gibson. We’re going to chill for a little bit, see what’s going on. He’s cool.

So are you guys going to watch us tomorrow night against the Cavs? If you’re in Oklahoma City you can watch it on local TV and if you’re out of state, you can see it on the League Pass. Let me know in my comments section.

durantsignature

Fans: Be sure to check out Kevin on Twitter and Facebook.

voteside

Reaction to the ESPN the Mag NEXT Cover

kdlabel

091214_A_HalfSize_300dpiWhat’s good everyone? We had another good win last night. Russell had a career high 15 dimes!!! Hope you all had a chance to check us out. We have another tough one coming up on Friday against the Celtics.

Not sure if you heard, but I was recently put on the cover of the new ESPN Magazine as their “NEXT” athlete for 2010. I’m in some pretty elite company, too. Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Alex Rodriguez, LeBron James and Derek Jeter have also been NEXT athletes.

It’s an honor to be a part of that company. It’s just a blessing, but to really be up there I’ve just got to continue to work hard and be the person I am. I haven’t read the story yet but I’ll read that one. It’s pretty big time to be on the cover of any magazine. I was just honored. My family is real excited for me. They’re more excited than I am. They just congratulated me and it’s something that no one can take away from me.

Make sure you get a copy of the magazine. Also make sure you read this interview I did with Adena Andrews of NBA.com.

Russell also interviewed me about being NEXT. Check it out:

I’ll be back with another post later this week.

durantsignature

Fans: Be sure to check out Kevin on Twitter and Facebook.

voteside

Kevin Durant Named ESPN the Magazine’s NEXT Athlete

091214_A_HalfSize_300dpiKD is having success both on and off of the court this season. Wednesday he was named ESPN The Magazine’s NEXT athlete for 2010 in the publication’s annual NEXT issue.

The first issue of ESPN The Magazine was a NEXT cover with Kobe Bryant, Eric Lindros, Alex Rodriguez and Kordell Stewart. Other NEXT athletes include Adrian Peterson, Dwight Howard, Yao Ming, LeBron James and Derek Jeter.

Make sure you pick up a copy of ESPN the Magazines NEXT issue with KD on the cover.

Who’s Looking Good

kdlabel

What’s good everybody? Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. I hit the weights in the morning and then grubbed all day long.

I’m sure most of you already figured out that I’m a HUGE basketball junkie. I love to play and watch, and just because I’m always busy hoopin’ with the Thunder doesn’t mean I don’t follow what’s going on throughout the League. I keep up on things through NBA.com and box scores.

So who do I think is playing well so far? Of course my teammates have impressed me. We’re getting better as a team. But there’s a lot of other players who have looked good, too.

Of course superstars like LeBron, Kobe, D-Wade and Carmelo are having a good year. A lot of the rookies, Tyreke Evans, Jonny Flynn…they’re all having a good year so far. Oh yeah, I can’t forget Brandon Jennings. He has definitely impressed me so far. 55 points in a game as a Rookie is just crazy.

We’re actually playing Brandon and the Bucks tonight on ESPN. It’s gonna be another tough game, but should be a lot of fun. The game starts at 8:30 pm OKC time. Make sure to check us out.

Alright, I’m out. But leave comments and tell me who you think is playing well this season.

durantsignature

Fans: Be sure to check out Kevin on Twitter and Facebook.

voteside

 

© 2009 The Official Home of Kevin Durant. Designed by  The Creative Endeavour