As the NBA lockout became official on July 1, 2011, I thought my summer would be even worse than I had imagined. I already knew the majority of my time would be spent studying for the North Carolina Bar Examination. The NBA lockout also meant that there would be no NBA summer league games to watch on television. I always hate this time of the year because it represents that awkward period when the only major league sport on television is baseball. Although baseball is “America’s Past time,” I hate the sport and refuse to watch it on television. This also happens to be a summer where there are no World Championships or Olympic basketball games to watch. Because many NBA players refuse to play in non-NBA sanctioned leagues, I was not sure that we would be able to see NBA players competing this summer. Boy, was I wrong. NBA players have been showing up all over the country in summer leagues. I had an opportunity to see Brandon Jennings, Raymond Felton, Josh Powell, and John Wall compete at the NC Pro Am at North Carolina Central University. Although these players are good NBA players, I don’t think anyone of Kevin Durant’s status has played so much non NBA sanctioned summer league basketball in recent history.
For those of you who are not familiar with Kevin Durant, I will give you a brief introduction. He is the reigning two time NBA scoring champion. This past season he finished in the top five in MVP voting. He is a first team all NBA player and many consider him to be a top three player in the league. If he is a top three player in the NBA, that also means he is a top three player in the world. He led his Oklahoma City Thunder team into the 2010-11 NBA playoffs where they ultimately lost to the eventual NBA champions, the Dallas Mavericks. In short, he is a bonafide superstar and he makes super star money. The fact that he is willing to risk injury, and/or damage to his reputation for the love of the game is rare. Some may say he is playing at these parks and leagues so he can have more “street cred.” Others believe he just loves to play the game. In every interview I have heard this summer, he has genuinely sounded like he is doing this summer tour for the love of the game. He has made trips to some of the most famous gyms/courts in the country.
On August 1, 2011, Kevin Durant played at the famed Rucker Park. Actually, he dominated at the Rucker Park. Kevin Durant is not the first super star to play at the park because other players such as Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Baron Davis, Steve Francis and Lebron James have played there before him. However, this has truly been Kevin Durant’s summer. I saw one clip from the game at Rucker Park when he came down the court on five consecutive possessions and hit a three pointer from a few feet beyond the three point arc, with a hand in his face. He is pretty much an unstoppable force because of his height, skill and incredible jump shot. When the night was all said and done, Durant had 66 points and yet another win during his incredible summer. The very next night, he scored 41 points in another win at another top notch New York City summer league. He sealed the deal in this game with a three point basket with six seconds remaining in regulation.
Durant at Rucker Park
On August 20, 2011, Kevin Durant had an outstanding performance in a big summer league game. This time, the stakes were a little bit higher and the competition was even more competitive. This game featured the stars from the famed Washington D.C. Goodman League against stars from the famous Drew League in Los Angeles. The game was played in Washington D.C. and featured many NBA players. Some of the participating NBA players included: Ty Lawson, John Wall, James Harden, Brandon Jennings, DeMarcus Cousins, DeMar DeRozan, JaVale McGee and other NBA players. By all accounts, the players put on a great show for the fans. Again, Kevin Durant emerged as the best player on the court and was named most valuable player of the game. He finished the game with 44 points and led his Goodman League team to a 135-134 victory.
Regardless of whether you believe Durant has a motive outside of his love for the game, his summer has to go down as one of the best in the history on modern summer basketball.
Peace
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