Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Zion Williamson, and Several NBA Stars Uncover Hidden Inspirations for Big Career Choices: ?I Looked Up to Those Guys a Lot?

When you finally achieve the goal you have been chasing for a long time, one of the very first questions you are asked is about your inspiration. Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant has inspired millions of people to pursue their dreams, but who inspired the 2x NBA champion??The 34-year-old star forward had once mentioned Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan as his source of motivation. However, when presented with the same question again, ‘Slim Reaper’ did not name ‘His Airness’.

KD was voted as an All-Star this season but had to sit out due to an MCL sprain. The Suns star might not have been a part of the All-Star game, but he sure did not miss the three-day grand affair held in Salt Lake City.

Kevin Durant and fellow NBA stars talk about their idols

On the Media Day held during the 2023 All-Star weekend, Rachel Nichols of SHOWTIME Basketball caught up to several NBA players to ask the one question that everyone wanted to know the answers to. Newly recruited Phoenix Suns player Kevin Durant stated, “There’s a lot of players that inspired me but I think that ’03 Class like Melo, Bron, D Wade. I was a freshman in high school when they came out. So that was a significant time in my life. I looked up to those guys a lot.”

Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving was among the first ones in the video to talk about the athletes who inspired him to want to be an NBA player. He said, “I was at the 2002 NBA Finals. The Nets were playing, J-Kidd was playing. I was in the nosebleeds and I was just happy we could afford the tickets. But I went home after that game and I wrote down on my wall that ‘I’m going to the NBA’.”

Nichols then asked the same question to New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell. While Williamson named Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Michael Jordan as his idols, Mitchell shared that LeBron James and MJ were his muses. Similarly, Bam Adebayo and De’Aaron Fox named Kobe Bryant and John Wall as their respective inspirations.

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KD’s opinions about His Airness

In contrast to Kevin Durant’s most recent statement, he had once named Michael Jordan as the athlete who inspired him the most. While talking about his role model during a 2020 interview, the 13x NBA All-Star said, “I was inspired the most by Michael Jordan, he set the tone for us basketball players.”

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The Hall of Famer has inspired millions of fans through his incredible career in the sport. In fact, it might even be safe to say that the 6x NBA champion represents the game of basketball to billions of people all around the world.