ORLANDO -- When Kevin Durant steps onto a basketball court, no matter the setting, he can’t help but snag a ball and start to dribble and shoot.
The Thunder All-Star forward has been working diligently to get completely healed from the foot injury that limited him to just 27 games played during the 2014-15 season. He still managed 25.4 points per contest on 51.0 percent shooting during the season, but he needed a procedure after the All-Star Break, which kept him out for the remainder of the year.
It was the first time in his playing career – from his youth through high school, his season at the University of Texas and eight seasons in the NBA – that basketball was ever taken away from him for an extended period of time.
That’s why over Fourth of July weekend Durant was pacing up and down the basketball court, ball in hand, at the Amway Center during the NBA’s Summer League in Orlando. Durant was in town to support his teammates and spend even more time with Thunder staff, but also to stay as close to the game as possible.
“I’m juiced,” Durant said, beaming. “I can’t wait to play basketball again. I’ve been out for so long. I can start to see the progress and see the work that I’ve put in come to fruition. I’m getting better every single day. I have to continue to stay patient and stay positive and it’ll work out for me.”
The reason that Durant is so fired up is that he has been progressing nicely since his procedure, getting close to the third stage of his rehab. Durant himself reported that while he isn’t running and cutting yet, he’s been able to shoot some jumpers and has been in the weight and film rooms in order to find ways to improve heading into next season. Since he’s been at the INTEGRIS Thunder Development Center this offseason trying to get back to 100 percent health, he’s had a chance to sit down with new head coach Billy Donovan.
“I’ve been in OKC, and actually coach (Donovan) has been working me out this past week,” Durant said. “So it’s pretty cool to see your head coach on the floor with you and putting in work with you. So it’s like he’s been on this journey with me since he got in and that’s making us closer.”
“I’m trying to soak in as much information as possible on how we’re going to play offensively and defensively and what coach needs me to do as a leader,” Durant continued. “I’m seeing how coach approaches practice, learn as much as I can and get ready for camp.”
Durant also had praise for the rest of the Thunder coaching staff, which includes some old and new faces. Maurice Cheeks returns to the organization, and Durant said that he’s a coach who has been through a ton of experiences with the core players on the team. Along with returning coaches Darko Rajakovic, Mark Bryant, Adam Harrington and Vin Bhavnani, the team added Anthony Grant, Billy Schmidt and Monty Williams to the group, the latter of whom Durant called a standup guy, a great teacher and a people person.
All of those members of the staff will be helping Thunder players, including Durant, learn the finer points of the game and prepare for upcoming personnel and strategies throughout the season. Durant himself, however, has another source of knowledge to utilize for improvement’s sake – his trying and difficult 2014-15 campaign.
With the adversity he faced, Durant saw different aspects of himself as a player, person and teammate, uncovering new areas for growth. One of the key subjects Durant mentioned was how he works with teammates and the depth to which he understands them on and off the court.
“I can take a lot away from last year,” Durant explained. “No matter what, I always tend to look back and appreciate it.”
“I learned a lot about myself and about my team that I can help,” Durant continued. “I know there are going to be ups and downs. I know I’m going to have my good and bad days. But I just try to limit the bad ones and try to be the best teammate and person I can be.”
Most of all, Durant is just thrilled to be gradually getting closer to being in playing condition again so that he can go from dribbling the ball on the sideline at Summer League to soaring towards the rim at Chesapeake Energy Arena when the new season arrives.
“This stuff flies by,” Durant said. “I’m on my ninth year already. I want to enjoy every moment I have in this league, learn from every single experience and also try to help people along the way with what I’ve learned.”