$10 Million Donations and Flag Football with Fans: Kevin Durant On And Off the Court

He declared his love of Jesus off the court, now NBA all-star Kevin Durant is encouraging “respect” on the court.

The two-time NBA Finals MVP created a bit of Twitter stir when he gave homage to two former NBA players last week.

In an interview with Ball Don’t Stop, when asked who he’d like to have on an NBA Finals team he responded either Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant.

He said those two were,” above anybody else to play the game.”

That response prompted the trend #respect on Twitter.

CBN News Sports Reporter Shawn Brown has followed Durant’s career closely.

“When you say, #respect.  When someone says,' I respect this player,' it usually has to do with the way they approach the game,” said Brown.

“Kevin works hard. He works hard off the court and works hard on the court. He leads when he needs to lead. He scales back and gets everyone involved when he needs to do that,” he continued.

Brown also says Durant is known for once joining a flag-football game with fans.

Raised by a single-mother in Prince George's County, Maryland, Brown says Durant’s mom pushed the value of success in the classroom and in the game. 

Durant is paying that success forward. In February, he committed 10 Million dollars to the Prince George’s County public school’s College Track program.

College Track is an organization aimed at helping underprivileged kids achieve bachelor’s degrees.

Durant is also a mentor.  According to Sports Illustrated, he recently surprised four of his mentees by announcing he would pay their tuition for the entire first year. 

Brown says Durant has never hidden his faith, which isn’t an easy thing to do in the media spotlight. 

“If you come out and you say that you are a believer, a lot of time the media, your teammates will hold you accountable,” Brown said.

“He’s been pretty consistent he hasn’t shied away from being who he is in Christ and saying 'Christ is in me. He is the motivating factor for who I am',” Brown stated.