Is Kevin Durant Trying Too Hard to Shed His Nice-Guy Photograph?

Kevin Durant wants you to think that he's "not nice." He wants one to feel he's a tough competition, instead of "just" a soft smooth shooting. He wants you to think he is a killer on the court, as opposed to "just" an excellent, supporting teammate who every thing and anything he can to greatly help the Oklahoma City Thunder gain. He really wants to be described as a winner, rather than runner-upa'No. 1 as opposed to No. 2. Or, at the very least, that is what Nike would have you believe, if their current KD-centric advertising campaign is any indication: Except, changing who you are and how you approach the game when you're already as good as Durant is will not necessarily have any influence on your home in the NBA's celebrity hierarchy. Nor can it land you a location on the altar when you have already been attendant to the Larry O'Brien Trophy. Especially when you're Kevin Durant, and you know full well that you are wanting to become something that you are not (via Lee Jenkins and Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated ): People obtain it confused and think you've to be a idiot to get. But positive energy is all fed off by us. Iam a pleasant man. I love making people happy and brightening their day. If I am asked by someone for an autograph on the road, I donat want to wave him off and inform him, "Hell, no." Thatas not me. The last few months Iave had more enjoyable and settled down. We can still get on each other, but thereas another way. That does not appear to you just like a man that's "not nice," does it? That doesn't seem like somebody who ought to be creating a conscious effort to check like a difficult man, does it? And yet, Durant's on-court antics indicate otherwise. As a professional in 2012-13 he finished the regular season with 12 specialized fouls (undoubtedly the most of his career) and earned his first ejection. He also garnered a $25,000 fine because of this "menacing gesture" through the second quarter of the Thunder's 116-97 win over the Golden State Warriors on April 12: Durant's already picked up two more techs in these playoffs, leaving him five lacking a one-game suspension. Perhaps, meanwhile, a shift in perspective will make some sense for KD. After all, OKC is without Russell Westbrook and his brand surliness for what's probably be the remainder of the postseason. If Durant's already adopted more of Westbrook's scoring, passing and ball-handling responsibilities, you will want to complete for Russ' bulldog thinking as well? That aside, if Kevin wants fully to understand the potential pros and cons of creating a fresh personality for himself, he had prosper to check with and study the "example" set by LeBron James. Prior to the 2011-12 year, Jamesa'who serves as Durant's workout pal, on-court rival and most popular point of comparisona'admitted to Rachel Nichols (then with ESPN) that his effort to grasp the area of the "villain" hindered his ability to play the overall game of baseball with the exact same delight and interest as before, and to make use of his full potential, as a result: You could remember that Nike put out an offer in 2010, shortly after LeBron's popular "Decision," that painted James as rebellious, unconcerned along with his critics and willing to function as the "bad guy": It is perhaps not entirely unlike the Swoosh's latest campaign with KD. Awarded, Durant's has more of a comedic sense to it, while LeBron's took on a more severe, self-reflective tone.ABut the point involving the two is/was primarily the same: KD is not nice, and neither was LeBron. The last line of the LeBron advertising might serve as a good kick off point for Durant's own interior discussion regarding his supposed villainy: What must I do? Should I be who YOU want me to be? Or, in KD's case, should he be who Nike wishes him to be? Who he thinks he needs to be to ensure success at the highest degree in the NBA? Figures like Jordan, Bill Russell and Larry Bird (among others) have been lionized for being hugely competitive, for fighting their opponents every which way, for pushing their individual wills to gain to the depths of sociopathy. Jordan, specifically, has become the contemporary rule for competitive superiority. The MJ praise, although, too usually ignores some all-important points. For just one, the success that Jordan loved in the 1990s set an extremely hard to standard to which therefore many have aspired, nevertheless futilely. The prediction therein is that, as far-fetched as it can be for any person to achieve what Jordan did under any circumstances in today and age, one undoubtedly isn't planning to do so without an aggressive streak on par with Michael's (See: Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett). Also, Jordan's myth-inspiring mindset would probably arrive in the DSM as a real mental problem. He was known for going at his biggest rivals in substantial games, his teammates used and his friends in fun card games with equal ferocity, antagonism and single-minded concentration. We admire that in Michael, but could we really want our friends and family to act that way? Would you want to behave that way ourselves? And, of best interest to Durant, can you function as the very best at what you do, can you reach the peak of your job, without being a jerk? If LeBron's play during the last year-and-a-half is any indication, the clear answer is "yes." David no more embraces the hatred, nor does he often go out of his way to be loveda'unless, of course, there is a courtside celebrity to be greeted or a contest-winning lover to be tackled. Instead, as he told Rachel Nichols at the end of his meeting in December 2011, he allows his sport "be the villain cap guy." As should Kevin Durant. He should want people (supporters, competitors, teammates, etc.) to concern and/or regard him maybe not for any extracurricular antics or "intimidating" scowls, but instead for the sharpness of his shot, the timeliness of his moves, the period of his spider-like hands and the energy of his dunks: Which will be to say, Kevin must just be herself and allow the rest care for it self. He is already the second best player on planet Earth, with an NBA Finals look, three scoring titles and a 50-40-90 period already under his belt before his 25th birthday. Barring huge damage, he's only going to get better from here on out, together with his day in sunlight soon to follow. When these solar rays arrive will depend just as much on Durant's continued rise because it will on when and to what extent LeBron's game inevitably starts to drop. Attempting to be something that he's not isn't planning to support Durant in this undertaking. Last I checked, basketball is a group game, and it doesn't usually damage a team's fortunes if the majority of its people appreciate sharing a court with its biggest star, whilst the Thunder presumably do with Durant. If something, being fully a villain will simply hold him back and make it that much more difficult for him to realize the actual extent of his vast talents. Just as it slowed LeBron's progress into a champion, once upon an occasion.