Kevin Durant Would Have Joined NBA out of HS, Says NCAA Players Should Be Paid

Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant said Friday that college athletes should be paid. 

According to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, Durant said there is "hypocritical money talk in college sports" and revealed he would have entered the NBA draft out of high school if rules allowed it so that he could help out his family financially.

Earlier Friday, Pat Forde and Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports published a report regarding a federal investigation into corruption in college basketball.

According to the report, Duke, North Carolina, Texas, Kentucky, Michigan State, USC and Alabama were among those listed in documents as schools linked to providing players with impermissible benefits.

Forde and Thamel also reported that Michigan State's Miles Bridges, Alabama's Collin Sexton and Duke's Wendell Carter, as well as Dallas Mavericks guard Dennis Smith Jr., Philadelphia 76ers guard Markelle Fultz and Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo were named in the report as possible beneficiaries.

Beginning with the 2006 NBA draft, the NBA enacted a rule that required players to be at least 19 years old during the year of the draft before entering, meaning they would likely need to spend a year in college or play professionally elsewhere.

Durant was selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft by the Seattle SuperSonics after one year at Texas.

With the Longhorns, Durant dominated to the tune of 25.8 points and 11.1 rebounds per game en route to being named the National College Player of the Year.

Durant then averaged 20.3 points per game as a rookie in the NBA and has developed into one of the league's premier players. KD is a nine-time All-Star and the reigning NBA Finals MVP after leading the Warriors to a championship over the Cleveland Cavaliers last season.