Kevin Durant has played long enough and at a top level to be immune to moments of awe, but even he has one name that sits above the rest. When Kay Adams asked him on Up and Adams show who his dream Boardroom guest would be, Durant didn’t pause or workshop the answer.
“Michael Jordan… He has so much aura, and he can say anything, and it just sounds perfect.”
It was a respect of one generational player talking about a legend who changed everything for the NBA. Durant spoke about Jordan with a kind of clarity that only comes from studying someone for years together.
And he didn’t just stop at admiration. KD had a list of questions ready, thoughtful ones that show how much he thinks about the game on a deeper level.
“What players does he watch? What does he think about the style of play compared to the style of play in his era? The difference in sports medicine back then and compared to what we do, how we do it today.”
“Like, I mean, I got so many questions I ask, I’m like, man, I could go on and on. I mean, that’s the GOAT, man. That’s just the perfect basketball player, perfect businessman. Like, he just taught everybody how to be great on the court and also how to maximize what you do off the floor too. He was perfect, man.”
These are the kind of questions only a legend would even think to ask. Durant wasn’t interested in the surface-level questions. He wanted to know what Jordan thinks about the modern NBA, how he would break down today’s pace and spacing, and how he views the physical advantages that current players benefit from. There was a sense that KD could talk to Jordan for hours and still feel like he barely scratched the surface.
That’s Durant, one of the greatest offensive talents the league has ever produced, calling Jordan perfect. And it wasn’t hyperbole. KD genuinely sees Jordan as the model, the blueprint for greatness, from the mindset to the branding to the way he carried himself when the lights were brightest.
Durant has praised Kobe Bryant many times. He has talked about modeling parts of his game after Tracy McGrady. But when he talks about Jordan, there’s no sense of comparison. Jordan isn’t someone KD measures himself against. He’s someone he studies.
In a league where the GOAT debate never dies, Durant didn’t bother building an argument or weighing categories. He didn’t mention stats or rings or eras. He just told the truth as he sees it.
For him, it’s Jordan, the aura, the influence, the dominance, the total package. The player who set the standard, he still chases.
