Kevin Durant has always spoken very highly about his mother. His famous speech on “the real MVP” still touches thousands of hearts to this day. But not many people know, he did not always feel this way.
Durant recently appeared on ‘Not This Again’ with Bobbi Althoff, where he spoke about how close he is to his mother and how their relationship developed over time. They were initially laughing over how their parents hid their violent tendencies in public and used different techniques to discipline their children without raising alarms over needing the potential involvement of Child Protective Services.
Kevin Durant then began reflecting on how close he is with his mother now and how he had combative tendencies due to his mother.
“Yes, I was combative as a kid cause she raised me rough. Like I told her, I wanted to be in the NBA. So she just put it in overdrive, just as if I had to do 100 push-ups, she would come out of nowhere, ‘give me 200 push-ups.’ Yeah, sh** like that would just irritate me over time,” said Durant in an honest confession.
“And then I was just outspoken and said anything as a kid, and that’s why I would get slapped out of nowhere, and then I’d talk too much in class, and she’d come to school, slap the sh** out of me in front of the class. Like sh** like that, like she would just piss me off with,” Durant further added.
“But like I said, like we said earlier, that stuff as you get older, you appreciate that sh**. And then we start having a real conversation,” said Durant on how his perspective changed over time.
“Probably, I was like 25 when I accomplished my goals. Yeah. And I’m like, I’ve seen the stuff work. You know what I’m saying? And then, now I understand it a little bit more, and then I understand her and her journey a little bit more. So these conversations we started to have, and we became closer. Now, when we talk, it’s almost like brother and sister,” said Durant in conclusion, when recalling when he started appreciating what his mother did for him.
Durant recently clarified that he felt that he did not have any issues about resources growing up, despite growing up in a home where his parents were divorced. He loves both his parents dearly and appreciates their contributions to his life. Therefore, with time, Durant gained perspective on his mother’s struggles as well as his father’s and channeled them both into building the NBA career he has today.
The Rockets’ superstar also admitted that he wants to have his own kids someday, yet he has his insecurities and issues about getting married. Clearly, Durant is a simple man dealing with the complexities of his desires in life.
