Story excerpt from DailyThunder.com

WASHINGTON DC — I grew up in Oklahoma, and now I live and work in Washington, DC. I also happen to have been roommates with Royce during our formative years in Norman. So naturally, when I heard that Kevin Durant occasionally plays summer league ball in DC, I took it as my moral duty to find out the details and attend.

After learning from twitter (@Inside_da_Gates) that KD would be playing in DC this week, I was able to clock out of work a bit early yesterday and attend last night’s session (Tuesday, June 7) of the George Goodman Basketball League. If you do not know, the Goodman League is a summer basketball league in the southeast Washington D.C. neighborhood of Anacostia/Barry Farms (to learn more about the league and its history – it is sponsored by Nike and is regularly billed as one of the nation’s top spots for summer ball – check out their website).

I arrived to the Barry Farms neighborhood around 6:50 p.m. (it’s a 4 minute walk, at most, from the Anacostia metro station), just in time to catch the tipoff of the first game – but there was no sign of KD. The scene was what you would imagine for a high intensity summer league – good basketball players, a standing room only crowd inside the caged basketball court, Gatorade and bottled water available for $2 a bottle, and a DJ spinning great music (opening song was the full length version of Rick James’ “Mary Jane”). In addition, the best part of the Goodman League is Commissioner Miles Rawls, who commentates on the games over a PA in real time.

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By Michael Lee, Washington Post

Oklahoma City — Moments after taking ownership for having “let the city down” in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s disastrous loss in Monday’s Game 4 against Dallas, Kevin Durant walked back onto the court, his head held high, and quickly hugged his grandmother, Barbara Davis, and then his mother. Before Durant could sneak away, Wanda Pratt brought her son in closer and whispered into his left ear: “Don’t put this all on yourself. Keep playing. Keep being you.”

Durant nodded without saying a word, then walked away, hands clinging to the straps of his backpack, without acknowledging his father, Wayne Pratt, his brother, Tony, his representatives, Aaron and Eric Goodwin, and other close friends and associates. His season would officially end two nights later in Dallas.

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Though she’s often seen dancing at Thunder games, sometimes Kevin Durant’s mom, Wanda Pratt, feels the playoff pressure too.

OKLAHOMA CITY — The situation was tense and couldn’t have been bigger.

Kevin Durant, the focus of more than 18,000 fans in Oklahoma City Arena and millions more on national TV, was concentrating during the critical fourth quarter of Game 7 of the second round of the NBA playoffs.

His team wins, and it advances in the playoffs. Lose, and the season is over.

“The biggest game of my life,” Durant said. “I was focused. I promise, I was locked in.”

Then he saw his mom in the arena and laughed.

Across the court, but clearly in another world, Durant’s mother, Wanda Pratt, was dancing. Her moves were captured for all to see on the giant video screen, and even her superstar son couldn’t help but smile.

“It relaxed me,” he said. “She’s been doing that my whole life.”

Durant and the Thunder went on to win the game against Memphis and now are in the Western Conference finals, facing Dallas for the right to play for the NBA title. The tension is back for Durant and his teammates, who are down 3-1 to the Mavericks with Game 5 tonight in Dallas.

Durant takes things in comfortable stride, from playing the game to dealing with fans, teammates and the media, thanks to his mom.

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If the Oklahoma City Thunder can’t beat the Dallas Mavericks Wednesday night, it will be knocked out of the NBA’s Western Conference Finals. A loss also would end a compelling run by one of the postseason’s most improbable stars.

We’re referring, of course, to Kevin Durant’s backpack.

Durant, Oklahoma City’s standout forward, created a phenomenon when he began wearing his knapsack to postgame press conferences this month. Not only does Durant fasten the backpack’s straps around his chest, he also has a habit of buttoning his shirt all the way to the very top—nerd chic at its most blatant. The clean-cut Durant looks more like an eighth-grader shuffling his way to social studies than a 22-year-old multimillionaire who led the league in scoring.

Durant has said this was never about making a fashion statement. He simply wanted to be able to make a quick escape to the team bus after meeting with the media—and to have easy access to his Bible, which he carries with him.

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From Darren Rovell, CNBC.com

Kevin Durant fans seemed to be up in arms with me on Twitter when I said that I thought the Oklahoma City Thunder forward needed a bit more personality to be more marketable.

Durant does have deals with Nike, Gatorade, Panini, EA Sports, Skullcandy headphones and Degree Men, but I thought the small market and a reserved demeanor didn’t exactly make him stand out besides his amazing on the court performance, that is.

Instead of just guessing, I asked two polling services to tell me what their polls revealed about Durant.

I was surprised.

The Davie-Brown Index (DBI) shows that Durant’s best attribute is endorsement. He’s ranked No. 389 out of the nearly 2,800 celebrities in their database. Those polled consider Durant’s endorsement to be as good as an endorsement by Stephen Colbert, Jack Nicklaus or Will Ferrell. DBI data reflects that his endorsement means more to fans than anyone in the NBA, except for Shaquille O’Neal, Dwyane Wade and Dwight Howard.

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OKLAHOMA CITY – Kevin Durant(notes) ran a brush over his head one last time then pulled the straps tight on his backpack. This was a new selection from Durant’s apparently vast collection of book bags – gray with the initials “K.D.” printed on the back – and teammate Eric Maynor(notes) was needling him about its contents. Two pairs of pants and one pair of Gucci shoes was Maynor’s guess.

Durant smiled, but offered no confirmation. “I always gotta have my backpack,” he said before walking out the locker room doors. Watching Durant in moments like this – long-sleeved shirt buttoned to his chin, book bag strapped to his back – it’s easy to wonder:

Is he going to the Western Conference finals or social studies class?

This is part of Durant’s charm. He’s the assassin who walks away from his kill sipping a carton of chocolate milk. He’d just scored 39 points to end the Memphis Grizzlies’ season in a Game 7 performance so smooth he probably didn’t need a shower … and 30 minutes later he’s dressed like a sixth-grader.

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OKLAHOMA CITY – After watching the Memphis Grizzlies batter his Oklahoma City Thunder in the opener of the teams’ second-round series, Kendrick Perkins(notes) knew something needed to change. So he encouraged Kevin Durant(notes) to gather the team together … and watch the game again.

Durant took Perkins’ suggestion and arranged for a players-only dinner at his house on Monday night. The team dined on a Thanksgiving-worthy spread prepared by Durant’s personal chef and watched every minute of OKC’s disheartening loss to the Grizzlies. The players stopped the video at times to discuss specific breakdowns. By the end of the evening, they were in agreement on what needed to be done to improve.

They must have been right, too. Twenty-four hours later, the Thunder walked off the court at Oklahoma City Arena with a series-evening 111-102 victory. At least a few of the Thunder thought the seeds for the victory were planted at their clear-the-air, players-only meeting, the team’s first of the season.

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Thunder forward Kevin Durant is a humble superstar. From making sure photographers are OK after courtside crashes to signing autograph after autograph, Durant has always remembered his mother’s sage advice: “It didn’t have to be you.”

Layne Murdoch sat camped under the basket, on the cusp of capturing a potentially picture-perfect portrait. He steadied his lens as the three-on-two fast break crept closer to him. He held his position even when the action became too close for comfort.

Suddenly, Kevin Durant slammed into him, the contact from two Charlotte Bobcats defenders sending him crashing to the floor following a reverse layup attempt.

Durant, the Oklahoma City Thunder superstar, banged his head at the end of the play. Murdoch was knocked over on impact. Durant rolled around in pain while rubbing the back of his head. Yet, with his noggin throbbing, and his team nursing a tenuous one-point lead in the second half, Durant still had the presence of mind to turn his attention to the well-being of someone else, something more significant than the scoreboard.

He asked Murdoch if he was all right.

“It kind of cracked me up because I was really concerned about him,” Murdoch said. “I was like, ‘Yeah I’m OK. Are you OK?’”

Murdoch is the NBA’s team photographer for the Thunder. In his 31 years of taking NBA photos, he’s been barreled over by everyone from Hakeem Olajuwon to Karl Malone. The Mailman actually sat on Murdoch with no regard while arguing a call with a referee. And Murdoch’s seen much worse, like the infamous image of Dennis Rodman kicking a cameraman in the groin following a crash in Minnesota — and then laughing about it.

But after his collision with Durant, Murdoch joined a rapidly growing group that has experienced the kindness of Kevin Durant. It’s a trait that Durant displays daily, but one that runs deeper than anything fans see on television.

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The superstar’s dad could’ve quit his job the day his son declared for the NBA Draft, could’ve handed in his badge and his gun when his kid signed that first contract, could’ve punched his last time card when his boy snagged that massive contract extension.

Kevin Durant’s father, Wayne Pratt, right, still works as a federal police officer in Washington.

Instead, Wayne Pratt is taking vacation days to see his son make his first start in the All-Star Game.

Ever wonder why Kevin Durant is a humble superstar?

Look no further than the superstar’s dad.

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