Is Kevin Durant Trying Way Too Hard to Lose His Nice-Guy Picture?

Kevin Durant wants one to believe that he is "not nice." He wants one to think he's a tough competition, in place of "just" a soft smooth shooting. He wants one to feel he is a killer on the court, instead of "just" a fantastic, loyal teammate who does every thing and any such thing he can to greatly help the Oklahoma City Thunder win. He really wants to be considered a success, rather than a runner-upa'No. 1 in place of No. 2. Or, at least, that is what Nike could have you think, if their recent KD-centric advertising campaign is any indication: Except, changing who you are and how you approach the game when you are already as great as Durant is won't necessarily have any influence on your place in the NBA's superstar structure. Nor will it land you a location on the altar when you've been already attendant to the Larry O'Brien Trophy. Specially when you're Kevin Durant, and you know full well that you are attempting to become something that you are not (via Lee Jenkins and Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated ): People get it confused and think you've to be always a idiot to gain. But positive energy is all fed off by us. Iam a pleasant person. I like making people happy and their day brightening. If I am asked by someone for an autograph on the road, I donat want to wave him off and tell him, "Hell, no." Thatas not me. The previous couple of months Iave had more enjoyable and settled down. We are able to still access it each other, but thereas another way. That doesn't sound for you like a man that's "not nice," does it? That does not sound like someone who must be building a conscious attempt to look like a tough guy, does it? And yet, Durant's on-court antics would suggest otherwise. As an expert in 2012-13 he completed the standard season with 12 complex fouls (undoubtedly the most of his profession) and received his first ejection. He also earned a $25,000 fine for this "menacing gesture" throughout 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 specialists in these playoffs, leaving him five lacking a one-game suspension. Probably, in the meantime, a change in perspective would make some sense for KD. After all, OKC is without Russell Westbrook and his trademark surliness for what's probably be the remainder of the postseason. If Durant's already adopted more of Westbrook's rating, passing and ball-handling duties, why don't you complete for Russ' bulldog mentality as well? That aside, if Kevin needs fully to understand the cons and potential pros of making a new persona for himself, he had prosper to check with and study the "example" collection by LeBron James. Previous to the 2011-12 time, Jamesa'who serves as Durant's exercise buddy, on-court rival and most typical 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 hockey with exactly the same joy and love as before, and to make use of his full potential, as a result: You may remember that Nike released an ad this season, right after LeBron's infamous "Decision," that colored James as defiant, unconcerned along with his critics and willing to be the "bad guy": It's perhaps not totally unlike the Swoosh's latest campaign with KD. Given, Durant's has more of a comedic feel to it, while LeBron's took on a more severe, self-reflective tone.ABut the purpose between the two is/was essentially the same: KD is not great, and neither was LeBron. The past line of the LeBron advertising may serve as a helpful starting place for Durant's own internal discussion regarding his supposed villainy: What must I do? Must I be who YOU need me to be? Or, in KD's case, must he be who Nike needs him to be? Who he thinks he needs to be to succeed at the highest degree in the NBA? Figures like Michael Jordan, Bill Russell and Larry Bird (among others) have long been lionized for being insanely aggressive, for attacking their opponents every which way, for driving their individual wills to get to the depths of sociopathy. Jordan, in particular, is just about the modern canon for competitive superiority. Some all-important points are though, too often ignored by the MJ worship,. For one, the success that Jordan loved in the 1990s set an almost impossible to standard to which therefore many have aspired, but futilely. The prediction therein is that, as far-fetched as it might be for any player to attain what Jordan did under any circumstances in today and age, one certainly is not planning to do so without a competitive streak on par with Michael's (See: Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett). Moreover, Jordan's myth-inspiring mindset may possibly turn up in the DSM as a genuine intellectual condition. He was known for going at his teammates in practice, his greatest competitors in significant games and his friends in recreational card games with equal ferocity, antagonism and single-minded concentration. We enjoy that in Michael, but could we really want our friends and family to behave that way? Would we should act this way ourselves? And, of greatest interest to Durant, can you function as the best at what you do, can you reach the pinnacle of one's profession, without having to be a jerk? If LeBron's play throughout the last year-and-a-half is any indication, the answer is "yes." James no more embraces the violence, or does he usually walk out his way to be loveda'unless, of course, there is a courtside star to be met or a contest-winning fan to be handled. Somewhat, as he told Rachel Nichols at the end of his interview in December 2011, he lets his game "be the villain hat guy." As should Kevin Durant. He must want people (fans, opponents, teammates, etc.) to concern and/or regard him perhaps not for any extracurricular antics or "intimidating" scowls, but instead for the sharpness of his opportunity, the timeliness of his passes, the period of his spider-like hands and the power of his dunks: That is to state, Kevin should just be herself and allow rest take care of it self. He is already the next best player on planet Earth, by having an NBA Finals appearance, three scoring titles and a 50-40-90 season already under his belt before his 25th birthday. Barring catastrophic injury, he's just going to progress from here on out, with his day in sunlight soon to follow. When these solar rays arrive will count as much on Durant's continued rise as it will on when and to what extent LeBron's game certainly begins to decline. Wanting to be something which he is not isn't likely to help Durant in this enterprise. Last I checked, baseball is just a team game, and it does not frequently damage a team's accomplishments if the majority of its participants appreciate sharing a court with its biggest star, while the Thunder possibly do with Durant. If anything, being truly a villain will only hold him back and ensure it is that a whole lot more burdensome for him to appreciate the true level of his prodigious talents. In the same way it slowed LeBron's development right into a winner, once upon a period.