NBA Offseason: Why the NBA Needs Kevin Durant Now More Than Ever
If nothing else, "The Decision" told us volumes about LeBron James' mindset.
James doesn't just view himself as a basketball player, he views himself as a brand, a brand that constantly needs to be marketed.
The way Kevin Durant announced his "decision" told us volumes about his mindset too.
Instead of co-opting ESPN for an hour in prime-time, Durant took to his Twitter account to break his big news about signing a five-year extension. No hoopla. No grandiose exhibitions about where he'd be taking his talents. Just a Tweet thanking God for blessing him with the opportunity to play in the NBA.
LBJ may want to be the best basketball player on the planet (and if those back-to-back MVP awards are any indication, he may already be there), but he'll always want something more. LeBron has professed his desire to become a billionaire—which explains the Knicks' ridiculous free agent pitch to him, and he demonstrated this summer that he'll do anything to advance his brand, even if it means breaking up with his hometown on national TV.
Durant, on the other hand, brings a welcome slice of humble pie.
Durant is the quintessential foil to the narcissistic display put on by James this summer.
And that makes Durant, not James, the ideal role model for the NBA's next generation of superstars.
It's no surprise LBJ turned out the way he did, in terms of him focusing on his brand as much as he focuses on his basketball talents.
After all, as Sports Illustrated's Ian Thomson points out, LBJ and a whole generation of superstars grew up dreaming of becoming the next Michael Jordan one day.
The only problem with that: Thomson astutely notes that before M.J.'s first title in the 1990-91 season, only one team in the 43 seasons prior had the league's leading scorer and ended up winning the championship (1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar).
Thomson writes:
"The confusing example of Jordan enabled Allen Iverson to think he could be a self-absorbed scorer and a champion simultaneously. It also enabled the whole Shaq-and-Kobe fiasco over who should be The Man. It made the NBA unpopular among traditional fans, who saw a generation of young players scoring selfishly in pursuit of salary and celebrity and all the while rationalizing it because, well, wasn't that how Jordan did it?"
"Through no fault of his own, Jordan was viewed by an entire misguided generation of players who drew the wrong conclusion from his success. They looked up to him and decided, "Greed is good."
Now, LBJ has broken the M.J. mold on the court, as he's always shown an affinity for making plays for his teammates rather than being a one-man scoring machine. Think of James' decision to join the Miami Heat however you'd like, but the fact is, James' choice suggests that he's ranked winning ahead of money, statistics, and hometown loyalty.
Off the court, James is as much of a Jordan wannabe as you can get. You'd be crazy to think LeBron doesn't want his own iconic Air Jordan-esque image.
That's what makes Durant's approach to the game so refreshing. He very well may harbor many of LeBron's same goals, ambitions, and dreams, but he handles his business in a far more mature manner than you'd expect from a 21-year-old multi-millionaire.
Better yet, now that LBJ has abdicated his throne as heir apparent to Jordan, Durant sounds like he's ready to step up in James' shoes.
A few choice Tweets from Durant these past few weeks:
This past Friday morning: "Now everybody wanna play for the heat and the Lakers? Let's go back to being competitive and going at these peoples!"
On July 7, the day before LBJ's Decision: "yea I'm the leader and i don't take that role lightly...I wanna be that guy, why would i want anotha guy to take that from me???"
Well, then. It's probably safe to say that we shouldn't expect to see Durant calling up Chris Paul and Dwight Howard begging for help any time soon.
Durant manages to maintain an aura of cool confidence while never sinking into braggadocio. He won't say that he "spoils people with his play" after a loss (like LBJ after Game Five against Boston in the 2010 playoffs); instead, he'll say something along the lines of how he's a born scorer and confident in his abilities, but he's always got to keep improving.
You want your team's best player to lead by example. You can't ask for much more than that superstar to remain hungry and humble…and to hit the gym (a lot) in the offseason to prove it.
David Stern couldn't ask for much more in a superstar for his league. Durant willingly attended the NBA Draft and the NBA summer league to cheer on his new teammates. David Thorpe, who trains NBA draft prospects at IMG Academy, tweeted "I've been coming to summer leagues for 11 years and never seen anything like [Durant]. "
Best of all, unlike the NBA's draft class of 2003, Durant and the younger superstars have grown up with Facebook, Twitter, and all sorts of social media through their high school and college days. Stern, who's always looking to expand the reach of the NBA, should take note of Durant's Twitter savvy.
Last week, Durant told John Wall not to worry about missing the ESPYs because of NBA summer league; in fact, Durant offered Wall praise for his mature decision to choose basketball over Hollywood.
That's the kind of message we should want NBA superstars sending to the next generation. "The Decision," on the other hand…not so much.
Regardless of the message it sends, the SuperFriends may become the de facto face of the NBA. After all, it's not every day that you've got three perennial All-Stars playing on the same team in their primes.
But Durant is the perfect foil to the super team down in Miami. And he, not LBJ or the rest of the SuperFriends, should be what future NBA superstars aspire to become.
