Kevin Durant’s annual visit back to his hometown has lost some of its luster. But winning never gets old, even when the Oklahoma City Thunder (12-3), owners of the best record in the NBA, stoop to face the Wizards (1-12), who sit at the very bottom. “We’re greedy,” Durant said after Thunder practice at Verizon Center on Tuesday. “We want to win every game we play. No matter what, those guys are better than what their record show.”
Durant is on a title contender, but he can look back on a situation not that dissimilar from the one that the Wizards currently find themselves in. Durant lost 121 games in his first two NBA seasons, the first in Seattle before the franchise relocated to Oklahoma City.
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Current Thunder coach Scott Brooks took over in the middle of that second season, when Durant and Russell Westbrook were still both 19 years old.
“I’ve never talked to our guys about being young because that’s an easy out,” Brooks said. “… When we were struggling, I always told them, ‘We’re not losing games. We’re learning how to win games.’?”
It’s no secret that the Wizards have looked to the Thunder as a source of information and expertise on how to flip the script, as Oklahoma City did two years ago, going from 23 wins to 50 and a playoff berth.
“I’ve never talked to [Durant] about it,” Wizards guard John Wall said. “But I watch basketball and then seen the tough times he went through and then seeing how much fun they having.”
There is no quick fix. In fact, the Wizards are taking only the first steps.
“When you have a young team that has good habits and good character and that believes in team, eventually if they work hard every day, it’s going to improve,” Brooks said.
Durant (26.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists a game) carries himself differently now. There’s more confidence, more poise, the air of a player who is comfortable with the role not of upstart or contender, but favorite. Wizards coach Flip Saunders said if he had to choose right now, Durant would be league MVP.
For the Wizards, he’s also the most valuable source of inspiration.
“Just keep faith in your hard work,” Durant said, “and things gonna change.”
– Craig Stouffer
