My Summer Lair Chapter #119: Who Is Kevin Durant?
That question is partly answered by Marcus Thompson’s latest bio: KD: Kevin Durant’s Relentless Pursuit to Be the Greatest.
As for Marcus Thompson he’s a lead columnist at The Athletic, covering the Golden State Warriors, San Francisco 49ers and Giants, and the Oakland Raiders and A’s. KD is his second Warriors bio Golden: The Miraculous Rise of Steph Curry came out in 2017.
As for KD well that’s complicated isn’t it? That’s why I said “partly answered.” Marcus’s KD bio opens with a nimble comparison between KD and Tupac Shakur: the intelligence, the volatility…the sensitivity… and of course the contradictions.
Kevin Durant’s contradictions not only hint at a complex personality he represents our age. We’ll howl at the demise of political rhetoric on Facebook but praise Facebook’s ability to connect us with friends and family. We’re constantly surrounded by contradictions without any clear way to properly resolve them so often we choose to tolerate them.
Like when KD left the Thunder to sign with the Warriors. Anger and frustration sure yet it once again confirms a simple truth. Nobody is simple; the complexity of their personality renders facile narratives impotent. If somebody doesn’t make sense it’s your narrative that’s wrong; you issued the wrong verdict. (We’ve seen this all the time with Kanye West. He’s fine and doing incredible work…you hot take is just lukewarm at best.)
And so here we are with the Toronto Raptors for the first time in the NBA Finals. Marcus and I are talking not about basketball per say but the culture that permeates the NBA. That’s the magic of KD and how he is so different from other NBA players…one thing leads to another.
Marcus Thompson II @ W • T • F
Host Sammy Younan
Recorded: Friday May 31, 2019 at 6:30pm
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