Kevin Durant: OKC Superstar's Passion for Hoops a Breath of Fresh Air

Kevin Durant is not your normal NBA superstar. Sure, the Oklahoma City megastar has his own line of footwear, and is frequently seen in commercials and magazine photo shoots, but that's where the similarities end. 

Durant likes living in a smaller market, away from the glitz of New York, the clubs of Miami and the celebrity of Los Angeles. Off the court, he tends to shy away from the spotlight, which isn't easy when you're a 6'11" forward with the kind of basketball skill never seen before in a player of that size. 

But what's most unique about Durant is his love of the game. Recently, the Thunder superstar made headlines around the basketball universe when he delivered a performance for the ages at New York City's legendary Rucker Park tournament. 

Durant dropped 66 points in a game at the streetball Mecca last night, delivering the kind of masterwork against the best streetballers in the world that will echo through the five boroughs until well after Durant has hung up his sneakers for the final time. 

But that's not what makes Durant so special; lots of players, including NBA players, take part in the festivities at Rucker. 

No, what sets Durant apart is the fact that this is what he does, all year long. He goes and finds tournaments, games, streetball offerings, anything he can get and just plays. He doesn't do it for the camera, he does it for one reason: He loves playing basketball.

The cynic in me says that Durant is just trying to build his brand, that he made an appearance at Rucker simply because his agent told him it was the right way to build himself into a global icon. But given what we've seen from Durant, that doesn't seem to be the case.

Durant's love of basketball is refreshing. He's not going through the motions, not just making an appearance or shooting a commercial; he's giving it his all, ready to play and dominate, honing his skills. 

Look at his face at the end of the video; that's not a man preening and strutting for the camera; that's a man ready to play defense and grab a rebound on his opponent's next trip down the court. 

This isn't the only tournament Durant has played in, either; he's been floating around the basketball circuit all summer long, looking for games and courts to hone his skill and become a more complete player. We're watching the birth of something special in Durant: a superstar who has a passion for the sport. 

In the modern sports world, it sometimes feels as though the sport itself is simply a means by which to achieve the end result of celebrity status. Players spend their offseasons shooting commercials, taking on acting parts and turning themselves into global media icons and moguls. They're as focused, if not more, on ensuring that their brand becomes as big as or bigger than anyone else's, on maintaining that level of celebrity, as they are on becoming great basketball players.

Yes, LeBron, I'm looking at you. 

Durant loves the game first and foremost. He wants nothing more than a ball and a court, and he's happy. You get the feeling he doesn't really care if people are watching; all he wants to do is play ball. 

His passion for the sport sparks something deep within us, as well, something long lost to the jaded nature of modern professional sports. It's the same thing we feel when we watch a Cinderella make a run in March Madness, the same thing we felt when we watched Michael Jordan clutching the NBA Finals trophy after giving his all to win it. 

Seeing Durant play the game with such joy and passion reminds us why we love sports. It reminds us of the days when athletes played simply for the love of the game, not to become worldwide celebrities or to sell shoes. 

Kevin Durant is providing us with the breath of fresh air our love of sports needs from time to time. He's playing a sport because he loves it and wants nothing more than to be better at it than he is now. He wants to be the best, not because it means new endorsement deals, but because he loves basketball. If he didn't, he wouldn't have been working so hard at Rucker, or the FIBA World Championships last summer.

So, from all of us sports fans out here, thank you, Kevin. Thank you for reminding us that while there may be endorsements and rap labels and clothing lines out there, some athletes just love playing basketball.