What always separated the greatest players of all time from those who were great was the extra work they put in to improve their game. There have been plenty of examples throughout league history, with Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant leading the way in showcasing incredible attention to detail when trying to improve their skillset as basketball players on both ends of the floor.
On top of all their God-given talent, they were willing to sacrifice their bodies and time to become even better, knowing it would place them in rare air. One of those players is definitely Kevin Durant, and the level of detail he dedicates to his game was perhaps best described by his former Phoenix Suns teammate Vasilije Micic on the Xs and Os Chat podcast.
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“Sometimes I watch his workouts now on Instagram, for example, he’s doing a drill on how to get rid of the ball when he’s doubled. That’s a drill for him. It’s not a pull-up three drill, but how to make different passes when they double him. He’s 37 years old. The man is 7’1″. He’s incredible,” said the two-time EuroLeague Final Four MVP.
It would be a mistake to view KD solely as a scorer
It’s a phenomenal example of Durant’s dedication to the game. Although he’ll likely be remembered as a scorer, and many believe he could have been an even better defender given his height and wingspan, KD worked so much on the other details of his game throughout his career that it would be a mistake to view him solely as a scorer.
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He understood what was needed for success from the very beginning, specifically during his rookie season. By his own admission, during the first half of his rookie season, he was practically just a catch-and-shoot player, and he says mastering the pick-and-roll took his game to another level.
“That was the main thing when I wanted to expand my game. If I remember correctly, the first 20 games in the league, I felt like I was just catching and shooting,” Durant said when talking about his rookie season. “There were a lot of catch-and-shoot threes, catch-and-shoot middies. I was playing fast. That was my game — just shooting. That’s what I relied on when nothing else was working. If they stopped me or I wasn’t strong enough, I’d just shoot it over a guy,” Durant said.
At 37 years old Durant is still willing to keep improving his game
Because of some of his bold statements, Durant has at times cast a shadow over his own greatness. People tend to forget that he’s simply a pure hooper who just needs a ball and a hoop to be happy. He never changed; he’s always been that kid at heart, like all of us, who just loved hooping. The only difference is that, unlike most people in the world, he was willing to work on every aspect of his game to fully master this beautiful game called basketball.
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If you ever wondered how it’s possible that KD’s production and efficiency haven’t dropped off at all, even at this stage of his career, just remember Micic’s words about a man who, at 37 years old, is still willing to keep improving his game even after he has completed the game of basketball in every possible way.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 8, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.