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NBA ALL-STAR WEEKEND

February 17, 2017

Kevin Durant

New Orleans, Louisiana

Q. You'll be teammates with Russell Westbrook again. How's it feeling?
KEVIN DURANT: I'm excited to be here.

Q. (No microphone)?
KEVIN DURANT: I got better as a person, as a player. Now people are not worrying about where I play no more. Well, they are worried, but it's not a mystery about where I play. The game is still fun. I'm enjoying every single day.

Q. (No microphone)?
KEVIN DURANT: I mean, it's basketball. It's not like I have this tough, tough role. It's basketball. People that have always been supporting me are just supporting me. People that love me always still love me. Nothing's changed no matter where I play.

Q. Is it tough at times blocking stuff out and just focusing on basketball?
KEVIN DURANT: Sometimes it's tough, but when you just block it out, it's kind of easy. Don't look at stuff and don't pay attention. Stuff that you guys think are important, I don't think it's important at all. When you look at it that way, it's pretty easy to me.

Q. When you were younger, were you thinking about all the stuff that comes with it?
KEVIN DURANT: No. I didn't think about that as a kid, but all this stuff just started to come around a few years ago. It was about basketball and the game before. Now, it's about all this other stuff. That just came around a few years back. It wasn't like that when I first got to the league.

Q. How fun was that playing with three teammates in the All-Star Game?
KEVIN DURANT: We'll see. I haven't done it before. It should be fun. Look forward to just going out there and playing and having some fun and representing where I come from, the organization I play for, the league I play in. So I'm excited.

Q. The media report that you're in quarrel with Draymond Green, but off the court you're friends. Can you describe your relationship?
KEVIN DURANT: You got it right, man. Basketball is intense. We're both passionate players, so we go at it. It's over once you finish the game. It's like it never happened. I'm sure, if you played on a team before, you understand that.

Q. Is he your closest friend on the team?
KEVIN DURANT: I like everybody on my team. Everybody is pretty cool.

Q. What do you think about DeAndre Jordan making the All-Star team?
KEVIN DURANT: He's paid his dues. I felt like it should have happened a couple years ago. He means so much to his team. He's well respected around the league as one of the best big men and a different big man than what we're used to seeing. So athletic to be that tall and that big and gets off the floor so quickly, he's a freak of nature. I'm so happy for him. We've become best friends over the last few years. To go through this experience with him, I feel like it's my first time.

Q. On DeAndre Jordan:
KEVIN DURANT: He works extremely hard. He's humble. He doesn't think of himself as DeAndre Jordan. He's one of the most down-to-earth superstars I've met. He's kind of easy to get along with.

Q. With Giannis, you saw him that first game. He looked up to you so much the first time you played him. Did you see him coming from that point to be an All-Star starter?
KEVIN DURANT: I'd be lying if I said I saw that. When you're a wing player, it's kind of hard. There are so many good wings in this league and early on guys like that, figuring out the game, especially when you come from a different country, the adjustment is much bigger than basketball. But to see him adjust to our game so quickly, you've got to give him credit for how hard he works and how much he wants this. I expect him to be here every year for the rest of his career. If he isn't, that's on him. But he has all the tools to be here every year for the rest of his career.

Q. Were you surprised that he was voted as an All-Star as a starter?
KEVIN DURANT: No. I think he has the whole country behind him, for one, and he's playing the best basketball of his career. It all came together at the perfect time.

Q. With DeRozan as well, an All-Star for the third time but a starter for the first time. That shows the dedication and commitment to get to this point to be a starter for the first time.
KEVIN DURANT: Well, DeMar works on his game. You work on your game, man, that's what it comes down to. All of these guys, they still work on their game. No matter how many accolades that they have, they work on their game. I watched him, man. His footwork in the post is flawless. His jump shot in the mid-range is incredible. That's the type of stuff I look at as a basketball guy -- the footwork, the mechanics on his J, his handle. At first he was a dunker, and he rarely dunks now. He's a finesse player, but he can play powerful. I'm a big fan of DeMar.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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