Kevin Wayne Durant Bio
Kevin Wayne Durant (born September 29, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association. Known by the nickname “the Slim Reaper” and often called “KD,” he is widely regarded as one of the greatest scorers of all time. Durant has won two NBA championships, an NBA Most Valuable Player Award, two NBA Finals MVP Awards, four scoring titles, and four Olympic gold medals. He plays the small forward and power forward positions at a listed height of 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) and a listed weight of 240 lb (109 kg).
Selected second overall in the 2007 NBA draft by the Seattle SuperSonics, Durant has since played for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors, Brooklyn Nets, and Phoenix Suns before joining the Houston Rockets in 2025. He is the leading scorer in United States men’s Olympic basketball history and ranks fifth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
Early Life and Background
Kevin Wayne Durant was born on September 29, 1988, in Washington, D.C., to Wanda Durant and Wayne Pratt. His father left the family when Durant was an infant, and his grandmother, Barbara Davis, helped raise him alongside his mother. By age 13, his father had re-entered his life and traveled with him to youth basketball tournaments across the country. Durant has a sister named Brianna and two brothers, Tony and Rayvonne.
Durant grew up in Prince George’s County, Maryland, on the eastern outskirts of Washington, D.C. He was unusually tall from a young age, reaching 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) while still in middle school. As a child, his favorite team was the Toronto Raptors and his favorite player was Vince Carter. He played Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball for several Maryland-area teams and was a teammate of future NBA players Michael Beasley, Greivis Vásquez, and Ty Lawson. During this period, he adopted the jersey number 35 in honor of his AAU coach, Charles Craig, who was killed at the age of 35.
Durant attended National Christian Academy for two years and Oak Hill Academy for one year before transferring to Montrose Christian School for his senior season. That year, he grew five inches before the season began, starting at 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m). He was named the Washington Post All-Met Basketball Player of the Year and the Most Valuable Player of the 2006 McDonald’s All-American Game, and was widely considered the second-best high school prospect of 2006 behind Greg Oden.
Path to Basketball
After high school, Kevin Wayne Durant committed to the University of Texas at Austin, where he played one season of college basketball for the Texas Longhorns. During the 2006–07 season, he averaged 25.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game, leading Texas to a 25–10 overall record. He became the first freshman to win the Naismith College Player of the Year Award and also captured the John R. Wooden Award, consensus first-team All-American honors, the Big 12 Player of the Year award, and the USBWA National Freshman of the Year award.
Following his freshman season, Durant declared for the 2007 NBA draft and was selected second overall by the Seattle SuperSonics. Texas later retired his No. 35 jersey. His rapid rise through high school and college established him as one of the most promising basketball prospects of his generation.
Kevin Wayne Durant Career
Early Career (2007–2009)
Kevin Wayne Durant made his regular season debut at age 19, registering 18 points, five rebounds, and three steals against the Denver Nuggets. He went on to average 20.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game as a rookie, earning the 2008 NBA Rookie of the Year Award. He joined Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James as the only teenagers in league history to average at least 20 points per game over an entire season.
After his rookie year, the SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder. Durant continued to grow as a player, raising his scoring average to 25.3 points per game in his second season and setting a Rookie Challenge record with 46 points at the 2009 NBA All-Star Weekend. He reached his full listed height of 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) during his first few years in the league.
Oklahoma City Thunder Breakthrough (2009–2016)
Durant was selected to his first NBA All-Star Game during the 2009–10 season and won his first scoring title with a 30.1 points-per-game average, becoming the youngest NBA scoring champion. Behind his play, the Thunder improved by 27 wins and reached the playoffs. The following season, he led Oklahoma City to 55 wins and a trip to the Western Conference Finals.
During the lockout-shortened 2011–12 season, Durant won his third straight scoring title and his first NBA All-Star Game MVP award, then led the Thunder to the 2012 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Miami Heat. He led all players in the Finals with 30.6 points per game. In the 2013–14 season, he won his first NBA Most Valuable Player Award, averaging 32.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game and surpassing Michael Jordan’s record for consecutive games scoring at least 25 points at 41.
After injuries limited him in 2014–15, Durant returned healthy in 2015–16 and led the Thunder to a 55-win season. The team pushed the 73-win Golden State Warriors to seven games in the Western Conference Finals despite holding a 3–1 series lead. That offseason, Durant announced his decision to sign with Golden State in The Players’ Tribune.
Golden State Warriors Era (2016–2019)
Kevin Wayne Durant signed with the Golden State Warriors in July 2016 on a two-year, $54.3 million contract. His move to a Warriors team coming off a record 73-win season was controversial, but the results were immediate. In his first Finals with Golden State, Durant averaged 35.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 5.4 assists while shooting 55.5 percent from the field, earning the 2017 NBA Finals MVP Award as the Warriors won the championship.
The following season, Durant averaged 28.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 7.5 assists in the 2018 NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers, capturing a second consecutive Finals MVP Award and helping Golden State to a second straight title. During the 2019 playoffs, Durant scored a playoff career-high 50 points in a first-round win over the Los Angeles Clippers but suffered a right calf strain and missed the Western Conference Finals. He returned for Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors but suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon and was lost for the remainder of the series.
Brooklyn Nets Era (2019–2023)
Kevin Wayne Durant signed a four-year, $164.3 million deal with the Brooklyn Nets in July 2019 and missed the entire 2019–20 season while recovering from his Achilles injury. He made his Nets debut on December 22, 2020, posting 22 points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals in a win over the Golden State Warriors.
Reunited with former Thunder teammate James Harden, Durant played some of the best basketball of his career in Brooklyn. In the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals against the Milwaukee Bucks, he recorded 49 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 assists in Game 5 and dropped 48 points in a Game 7 loss. On March 13, 2022, he scored 53 points against the New York Knicks, and on April 2, 2022, he set a career high with 55 points against the Atlanta Hawks. After requesting a trade in June 2022, Durant was later traded to the Phoenix Suns on February 9, 2023.
Phoenix Suns Era (2023–2025)
Kevin Wayne Durant made his Suns debut on March 1, 2023, scoring 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting in a win over the Charlotte Hornets. He went 8–0 in his first eight games with Phoenix, which finished fourth in the Western Conference. In the 2023 playoffs, he led the Suns past the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round before the team fell to the eventual champion Denver Nuggets in the second round.
During the 2023–24 season, Durant averaged 27.1 points per game and shot 52.3 percent from the field, 41.3 percent from three-point range, and 85.6 percent from the free throw line. On January 21, 2024, he scored 40 points with zero free throw attempts in a win over the Indiana Pacers. On January 28, 2024, he became the 10th player in NBA history to reach 28,000 career points. On February 11, 2025, Durant reached 30,000 career points in a game against the Memphis Grizzlies. A left ankle injury in late March 2025 ended his season, and Phoenix missed the postseason.
Houston Rockets Era (2025–Present)
On July 6, 2025, Kevin Wayne Durant was traded to the Houston Rockets in a seven-team deal, the largest trade in NBA history. He signed a two-year, $90 million contract extension on October 19, 2025, and made his Rockets debut on October 21, scoring 23 points in a double-overtime loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. On January 5, 2026, he hit a game-winning three-pointer against the Phoenix Suns. On January 9, 2026, he surpassed Wilt Chamberlain for seventh place on the all-time scoring list and also passed 8,000 career rebounds. On March 21, 2026, he passed Michael Jordan for fifth place on the all-time scoring list.
The Rockets finished the 2025–26 season with a 52–30 record and the fifth seed in the Western Conference. They lost a first-round series to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games, with Durant missing Games 3 through 6 with a right ankle sprain. On May 24, 2026, Durant was named to the All-NBA Second Team, becoming the first player in NBA history to earn All-NBA honors with five different franchises.
Driving Style and Strengths
Kevin Wayne Durant is best known for his prodigious scoring ability and his 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) wingspan, which create matchup problems for nearly every defender. Early in his career he relied on isolation scoring, but he developed into an excellent off-ball player capable of hitting shots from anywhere on the floor. He is a member of the 50–40–90 club, and in 2022–23 he became the first player in NBA history to shoot better than 55 percent from the field, 40 percent from three-point range, and 90 percent from the free throw line in a single season. Over time he also became a more reliable defender and rim protector, especially during his years with the Golden State Warriors.
Notable Events and Milestones
Kevin Wayne Durant reached several historic scoring milestones during the 2025–26 season, including 31,000 career points on December 5, 2025, and 32,000 career points on February 26, 2026, when he also became the first player in NBA history to score at least 40 points in a regular-season game for five different teams. On February 28, 2026, he passed Kobe Bryant for sole possession of fifth place on the NBA’s all-time list of 30-point games, and on March 21, 2026, he surpassed Michael Jordan for fifth place on the all-time scoring list. In 2024, he became the first male basketball player to win four Olympic gold medals.
Kevin Wayne Durant Career Wins
Kevin Wayne Durant has won two NBA championships (2017 and 2018), one NBA Most Valuable Player Award (2014), two NBA Finals MVP Awards, two NBA All-Star Game MVP Awards, four NBA scoring titles, and the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. He has also earned All-NBA honors 12 times and has been selected to 16 NBA All-Star Games. In international play, he has won four Olympic gold medals and one FIBA World Championship gold medal.
NBA Highlights
Durant’s NBA career began with the 2008 Rookie of the Year Award, followed by four scoring titles between 2010 and 2014. His first NBA championship came in 2017 with the Golden State Warriors, when he averaged 35.2 points per game in the Finals and earned Finals MVP. He repeated as champion and Finals MVP in 2018. His most recent scoring milestone was reaching fifth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list on March 21, 2026.
Other Wins and Performances
Kevin Wayne Durant has won five gold medals with the United States national team: four in Olympic competition (2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024) and one at the 2010 FIBA World Championship, where he was named tournament MVP. He was named the Olympics MVP in 2020 and is the leading scorer in U.S. men’s Olympic basketball history. He was also a USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year in 2010, 2016, and 2021.
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Kevin Wayne Durant Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
This section is not applicable to Kevin Wayne Durant, whose background is in basketball rather than motorsports. He was raised by his mother, Wanda Durant, and his grandmother, Barbara Davis, after his father, Wayne Pratt, left the family. He grew up alongside a sister, Brianna, and two brothers, Tony and Rayvonne. His family has been a central part of his life, and his close relationship with his mother was the subject of the Lifetime film The Real MVP: The Wanda Durant Story.
Personal Life
Kevin Wayne Durant is a Christian who attended Baptist schools and has religious tattoos on his stomach, wrist, and back. He opened a restaurant called KD’s Southern Cuisine in Oklahoma City’s Bricktown neighborhood in 2013 and was briefly engaged to WNBA player Monica Wright. He has also worked as a credentialed photographer for The Players’ Tribune. He has a son, and his primary residence is not publicly detailed in verified sources.
2025 Season Performance
Kevin Wayne Durant was traded to the Houston Rockets in July 2025 in a seven-team deal and signed a two-year, $90 million contract extension in October 2025. He made his Rockets debut on October 21, 2025, scoring 23 points in a double-overtime loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. He quickly became a central part of the Rockets’ rotation, passing 31,000 career points on December 5, 2025, in a win over the Phoenix Suns.
On January 5, 2026, Durant hit a game-winning three-pointer against the Phoenix Suns in a 100–97 victory, and he continued to climb the all-time scoring list throughout the season. On February 26, 2026, he scored 40 points against the Orlando Magic and joined LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, and Kobe Bryant as the only players with at least 32,000 career points. He also passed Michael Jordan for fifth place on the all-time scoring list on March 21, 2026.
The Rockets finished the 2025–26 season with a 52–30 record and the fifth seed in the Western Conference, then lost a first-round series to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games. Durant missed Games 3 through 6 with a right ankle sprain. On May 24, 2026, he was named to the All-NBA Second Team, becoming the first player in NBA history to earn All-NBA honors with five different franchises.
