Podcast: Does Nike really think people doubted Kevin Durant when he left Texas?
That new commercial with KD is a bit of revisionist history
By
Gary Parrish
•
1 min read
Kevin Durant was a top-two player coming out of high school and the consensus National Player of the Year in his one season at Texas. So it was odd when Nike opted to release a commercial after Golden State's championship-clinching victory that suggested there were people doubting Durant entering the 2007 NBA Draft.
"He's a skinny teenager who will never make it in a man's league," says the actor posing as an analyst in the commercial, at which point I went ... "WHAT?"
Let the record show nobody -- at least no sensible or reputable people -- ever doubted whether Durant could "make it in a man's league." Some questioned his strength, sure. And those bench press numbers from the combine led to some nice jokes. But nobody thought it would prevent Durant from "making it in a man's league." It was widely known, back in 2007, that Durant was special in high school and college and would likely be special in the NBA too. The only reason he wasn't the No. 1 pick was because Greg Oden was a physical marvel also projected for greatness. It wasn't because Durant was just a "skinny teenager." That's pure fiction. Durant was always destined for greatness, according to most. And it was basically understood that he'd go No. 1 overall in most drafts that didn't also include Oden.
Anyway ...
Matt Norlander and I discussed that at the top of this episode of the Eye on College Basketball podcast -- and tried to remind listeners just how unbelievable Oden was to make it sensible for Portland to pass on Durant. The Ohio State big was also destined for greatness. Only injuries prevented him from achieving it.
After that, we transitioned into a conversation about Ohio State's coaching search that settled on Chris Holtmann. Then we transitioned into a conversation about Butler's coaching search that settled on LaVall Jordan.
The latest Eye on College Basketball podcast is below.
Give it a listen.
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