It usually isn't easy to find decent books on current star players in any sport, mainly because there will be so much more to the player's complete story. Even so, this book on Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors is a fantastic read and highly recommended for every basketball fan. Here is my review.
Title/Author:
“KD: Kevin Durant’s Relentless Pursuit to Be the Greatest” by Marcus
Thompson II
Tags:
Basketball, professional, biography, Warriors, Thunder, SuperSonics
Publish date:
May 14, 2019
Length:
272 pages
Rating:
5 of 5 stars (outstanding)
Review:
Very few athletes who are stars in their sport, no matter which one,
escape some type of controversy in their careers. Kevin Durant is no exception
as his decision to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2016 to join the Golden
State Warriors set off a furious reaction not seen since LeBron James left
Cleveland to sign with the Miami Heat in 2010.
The story behind Durant’s decision, as well as a look into his
complicated world, is told in this excellent unauthorized biography by Marcus
Thompson.
Having already penned one best-selling book about a Golden State star,
Stephan Curry, Thompson writes about Durant’s ascent to stardom from Prince
George County in the Washington DC metro area, or DMV for DC/Maryland/Virgina
as the region is called throughout the book, where he was not only competing
but thriving in games against boys older than him. The book then follows Durant to the
University of Texas for his one spectacular season for the Longhorns which
vaulted him to being the #2 pick in the NBA draft by the Seattle SuperSonics. He
had a fine rookie season, being named the Rookie of the Year and followed the
team when it moved to Oklahoma City.
This time in Durant’s career was my only negative takeaway from the book
– there was far too little written about Durant’s time in Seattle almost like
it never happened. That is ironic
because later when the Warriors and Sacramento Kings played an exhibition game
in Seattle, Durant was the recipient of much love from the Seattle fans.
While the reader will learn about Durant’s rise to superstar status while
he was on Oklahoma City, what the reader learns about Durant’s personality and
the conflict between Durant’s inner feelings and the public off-court persona
he portrayed makes for some of the best reading in the book and why it is a
compelling read. In public, Durant never
showed any tattoos for a long time, but he had a lot of ink with significant
personal meaning on areas of his body where they would be hidden by clothing in
public appearances. Through interviews
with other players and research, Thompson achieves something difficult to do –
providing the reader with an insightful look into an athlete who is still in
the prime of his or her career without interviewing the subject. Of course, it has to be taken that this is the
viewpoint of Thompson, but it still comes across as a very interesting topic.
Thompson also discusses at length the most controversial part of Durant’s
career – his decision to leave the Thunder two years after declaring he would
never go elsewhere and sign with the Warriors, who were already a championship
team. There are many reasons that have
been discussed in the media before, and Thompson addresses every one of
them. Much like Durant’s versatility in
his game – a seven footer who has a great shooting touch and an explosive first
step – Thompson writes about this controversy with much skill as the reader
will finish this part of the book with an understanding of what Durant
did. That doesn’t mean those who were
angry with this move will accept it – they will just become more informed. A
great look inside the career of one of the best in the game today as well as a
compelling read, fans of today’s NBA will want to add this one to their
libraries.
t iI wish to thank Atria Books for providing a copy of the book via
NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Book Format Read:
E-book (Kindle)
Buying Links:
https://www.amazon.com/KD-Durants-Relentless-Pursuit-Greatest-ebook/dp/B07GNTXW84/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/kd-marcus-thompson/1128864386?ean=9781501197833#/
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