Kevin Durant is one of the greatest NBA players of all time.
As such, it is relatively unsurprising that he modeled his game after similarly legendary players that came before him.
This week, Durant shared one former star that had a meaningful impact on his development. The revelation caught many people off guard.
“[Tracy McGrady] was the guy that stood out because I felt like we had a similar body type,” Durant said. “I tried to watch his games as much as I could, check his movements and try to emulate everything I see.”
While McGrady isn’t the first person you would think of when it comes to Durant, he was a truly special player. In a lot of ways, you could make the case that his lack of playoff success has contributed to him being historically underrated.
Don’t forget, Kobe Bryant once described McGrady as the hardest player he had to guard throughout his career. That’s telling.
It is always a treat to hear guys like Durant talk about the players that influenced them. A few months back, Kawhi Leonard also made headlines when he offered the surprising star that he absolutely idolized and greatly impacted him most growing up.
As for Durant, he has become more introspective as of late. In addition to this most recent confession about McGrady, he also recently shared the profound advice Bryant once gave him that he never forgot.
Durant still has a lot of years left in the NBA, but he is definitely on the other side of the hill as far as his remaining time as a player.
At one point in the not-so-distant-future, a young star is going to be speaking about him and his way of playing with the same sort of reverence Durant has for McGrady.
More must-reads: