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NBA FINALS: CLEVELAND VS GOLDEN STATEJune 8, 2017Kevin DurantCleveland, Ohio: Practice Day Q. You were making your decision, you had that phone call with Jerry West. I know you talked a little bit about it, but did some of the things you talked about with him then kind of come true? Are we seeing it now? And how important was that call to you? KEVIN DURANT: That was such a long time ago -- to be honest, I don't even remember. I really don't. Yeah, that was a long time ago. Q. Well, what has he meant -- I know you still talk to him a little bit. What has he meant to you, to have him on this franchise, and does it concern you that he might be leaving? KEVIN DURANT: He might be leaving? Q. Well, yeah, his contract's up and he's talked to the Clippers. KEVIN DURANT: Oh. I don't even know how to answer that one. Sorry. Q. Do you think you're playing the best, your best game ever, like you're at the top of your game in this moment? KEVIN DURANT: I'm not even thinking about that. I'm just trying to just go out there and play hard every second I'm on the floor, play with passion and energy and joy. That's all I'm concerned about. It's not about me, it's about our group. But we do need everybody individually to do their jobs and for all of us to have confidence when we go out there. So I'm just trying to put everything together for my teammates as far as having confidence, playing smart, playing hard and just playing free and with some joy. I think that's what we always talk about, all of us, we all just want to have some fun but play disciplined. And so that's a battle I'm trying to go through more so than worrying about how I'm playing, how great I'm playing. I'm just trying to be solid for my teammates. Q. This is what you envisioned when you decided to go to the Warriors? KEVIN DURANT: I didn't envision anything but just being around good people and getting better every single day. That's exactly what happened throughout the season. I didn't talk to these guys when I made my decision and say we better make it to The Finals and be up in the series around this time, this exact date, or I'm not coming. I mean, it was just let's just have some fun playing ball, let's just all get better and let's see what happens. Q. The Warriors were favored to win the title this year before you signed. Now that you're at this level, on this stage, do you feel a need to assert yourself in this series? KEVIN DURANT: I feel like every team I'm on, in order for us to go to the next level, I have to assert myself. Since I was playing for the PG Jaguars when I was 10 years old, I felt like if I didn't assert myself, we weren't as good as we should be. So that's always the approach that I have. Asserting myself might not always be just scoring the basketball. It's just playing hard, listening to my coaches and teammates, using my length. Just all the types of small stuff that you probably really don't see is what I try to do and try to get lost in those things and help. Just try to help the team win, no matter what. Q. To follow up, a lot of your teammates have talked about learning from last year's Finals, what happened there. How do you relate when they're discussing that or dealing with that? KEVIN DURANT: I know what losing is like. I've been in The Finals before and lost. So I can relate to that situation. I can't relate to that exact situation, but I know what losing is like and I know how you can lose a game or give a series away or give a momentum swing. I know all about it. But we rarely talked about last year. It was all about us and how we can get better from day one and with the guys we have on this team this year. So we didn't really talk too much about it. Q. It had been a long time, obviously, since you've been on this stage. Can you just kind of give a sense of what it's felt like, what it's been like for you just emotionally, competitively, what it's been like the last week or so and what it feels like to be on the verge? I know guys don't like to get ahead of themselves, but to be up, to be that close? KEVIN DURANT: My main concern is just every day going to practice, staying locked in in practice -- well, before practice, make sure I get my shots up, make sure I work on the small parts of my game, my touch, my jump shot, one-dribble pull-ups, stuff like that. And then go through practice hard and then work out after practice. That's the only thing I worry about at this point. The series is not over. So I'm going to do the same thing I did last practice. I'll do the same thing today. Q. Are you feeling all right today? You sound like you were -- KEVIN DURANT: I'm good. Q. Your voice was a little -- KEVIN DURANT: I'm good. Q. When you have a shot like last night that's been played already billions of times, three-pointer over LeBron to basically win an NBA Finals game or take the lead in an NBA Finals game, is that the one that's going to be your signature play? Do you ever think about that kind of thing, like years from now your Hall of Fame moment, everyone will still be watching this great shot? KEVIN DURANT: I don't think about years from now. We'll see. I'm glad we got the W. Try not to think too far past today. We have to practice today. We had a good film session. Guys getting shots up right now. So that's only thing I'm worried about. I don't want to get too far off of the goal at hand and the task at hand. I'm just trying to stay in this moment and not worry about the future. I know it was an exciting game last night for all the fans and for people to see, but as a player in it, you're just trying to stay in the moment and know that this can turn if we come out there thinking we won the championship already. We haven't. They're still champions, and we got to go take it. Q. I'm wondering if you can shed some insight on the chemistry and your comfort level and how it was established during your time here. Was there a particular period when it really took off and you felt like it was really fitting? And the second part of that question would be, how has the time that you missed with injury, how did that affect you seeing things and then kind of figuring how you fit into the flow of everything? KEVIN DURANT: Well, the first question about chemistry, you just have good people around. You have good teammates who are just trying to learn from each other and they work on their games. You just have that mutual respect for somebody who -- from Steph all the way down to Damian [Jones], who hasn't really played a lot, but everybody puts in a lot of work. So chemistry keeps building when you have that mutual respect. As far as on the court and the schemes and the X's and O's and more detailed part of the game, the experience only can help that. Just more reps on the court together, traveling on the road in the preseason and throughout the season and in the Playoffs and going through pressure moments and going through losing and winning and just all of the emotions of playing basketball. You go through that together, then a chemistry builds. And I still think we are always growing and getting better. We're not where we want to be, but we just keep pressing every day, keep getting better. Q. And the time off when you were off with injury? KEVIN DURANT: Oh, yeah, when I was out of the lineup for that month, it was just all about just getting back healthy as I can and keeping my timing and touch and all that stuff. And the timing part, the only can get better with that is by playing games. I tried to work on that while I was out. But as far as just watching the team, just seeing things a little slower, seeing things a little different and just watching the team just get better and better, get out of the slump that we were in when I first got hurt and just to see the team just grow and focus on the small detailed things, and our coaching staff emphasized that every single day, and the players just put that to work every day. So just to see that made me go even harder in rehab and make we want to just come back and just be a part of that. Q. One of the things the Warriors have done well for a few years now, especially well, is their ball movement. I was just curious for going against a team that has that much talent, that passes the ball that well, what was it like going up against it, and then what's it like being now in that system? KEVIN DURANT: Well, going against it, I mean, it wasn't like your turn, my turn, let's just out-talent the opposing team. It was let's just dissect the matchup, let's see where we can be effective within the offense and have everybody be effective and just playing with it. Being in that system for a year now and seeing how we practice every day and go through shootarounds is always just about making the correct play, putting guys in positions to be successful and use their strengths and just having guys off the bench that can do multiple things from all skills of the game, from dribbling, passing, shooting, just basketball IQ. You have a lot of guys that can do that on this team. So you might have a guy like Shaun [Livingston] who probably hasn't shot a three all season, but he can shoot the pull-up, the mid-range, can post up smaller guards, handle the ball, penetrate, pass. So just different types of players. And Coach does a great job of putting it together. Sometimes throughout the year we get a little lazy. You have seen it the last few games; we're averaging 19, 20 turnovers, because we move the ball so much and we try to squeeze a backdoor pass in or a lob pass when it's not there and it causes turnovers. We move the ball so well, sometimes we overpass. But that's a good problem to have. Q. Particularly with the passing, how appealing was that style of play to you? KEVIN DURANT: Basketball's like a rhythm game. It's a free-flowing game, and you just want to be a part of it. That's what makes it just even more and more fun. Guys are moving. You are working together. You're communicating out there on both ends. You see it playing against them, and then you see it on TV. And then it's a different feel when you're around it every single day. So I'm just trying to do my part and just take in as much as I can. Learn every day, work as hard as I can and try to help the team and just listen to my coaches and trust that they will make us better as a group and make me better as an individual. Q. You mentioned a couple times, Steve always talks about playing with joy. Is that something you're used to, or is that something you had to adjust to when you got here? And the second part of that is how did you feel it affects team performance mentally and physically, just knowing that that's what the coaches want? KEVIN DURANT: It takes the pressure off you a little bit when you're just out there just playing. But we always talked about it -- loose but disciplined. Sometimes we go too far on the side of loose and then we come back and we become disciplined and loose. For me, I always had joy playing the game. Don't ever get that wrong. I always loved playing the game. I always enjoyed coming out there and trying to figure things out. But for the most part it's just a different feel when it's coming from like your head coach to tell you to play with joy. Because when you are at this level, that's something that you really don't have to say, you shouldn't have to say. But having a coach that acknowledges that and understands that that is the reason why we started playing this game, it makes it a little easier to go out there and just actually do it. Q. I know you're a veteran, but do you think that kind of message also helps the youngsters get used to the NBA? KEVIN DURANT: It's great for the youngsters, but it also could be bad for them as well. When you come in, this is not normal as an 18-, 19-year-old. Look at Pat McCaw. Just turned 21. I mean, you're coming into a situation where you got a lot of veterans, a lot of guys who have been through the two-, three-hour practices in the league before and now they're on the downside of like knowing their body's recovering a little different, going through practice is a little different, going through just the season is a little different. Whereas as a young player, you might have to put in a little bit more work. You have to pay your dues early on before you can get to where David West is or Andre Iguodala. So I think our young guys, from Pat to Kevon Looney and Damian Jones and all of the young guys, they understand that and they know how hard it is to get to that level where you're a vet and you will be able to be a little bit more loose than you would be as a young player. But it's all a part of the experience and the growth as a player. Q. I was there the night you got hurt in Washington, and guys that actually covered you and have known you a little bit, we all kind of looked around and go, no, not again. And I can't imagine what you felt like at that moment. Can you walk us through the depths of your worst feeling in that moment and what happened and the moment that you found out that you could come back and how blessed I guess you are to be here where you are today? KEVIN DURANT: It's a man's game. Guys get injured a lot in this sport. I knew it was a part of it. It sucked that it happened to me, especially at home and a minute into the game. But I knew that playing this game, I was at risk of getting injured somewhere, some point. So I just tried to look at it that way. Like not get too discouraged. My teammates and coaching staff and the whole organization, they were supporting me through it all. I didn't want to feel sorry for myself either. It wasn't a pity party at all. As soon as I knew what was going on, I just went to work and started rehabbing, and six weeks flew by. So it was different than the first time I got injured, for sure. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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