The picture was taken in 2007, Kevin Durant’s rookie year in the NBA. He is donning jersey number 35 for the Seattle SuperSonics. Under his right arm, he is carrying a basketball. His hip is where his left hand sits. Durant has a rather clean shaven face for a 19-year-old who has just finished his first year at UT. His head is held high, and his grin betrays his delight at being in the NBA.

Durant was shown this shot and asked to reflect on it 16 years later following a training camp practice with the Phoenix Suns last week. The man chuckled.

To put it bluntly, “it was a long time ago,” he remarked. A long time has passed. I’ve spent (almost) half my life playing professionally. To be able to play on this stage and pursue my passion is a gift. I simply wish to keep up the high quality of my work and to add to what I have already accomplished.

Durant turns 35 on September 29. At this stage in their careers, many athletes are seeing a steady drop in their performance. Some of them have already retired. Not Sturdy. He is still a top player despite missing significant time due to injuries over the past four years. Durant won MVP votes in the annual NBA.com general manager survey, which was announced on Tuesday. (Neither a player under the age of 30 nor a player over the age of 35 has earned MVP since Steve Nash in 2006, and Karl Malone in 1999.)

Durant has unquestionably earned Hall of Fame status. In his 16 years as a professional, he has appeared in 13 All-Star games, won four scoring titles, won two championships, and been awarded the Most Valuable Player award. When asked how he would have responded if someone had told him all this back in 2007, Durant didn’t bat an eye.

I absolutely would have believed it,” he replied. That’s exactly what I had in mind. As a kid, I always envisioned myself as a professional athlete. You have a lot of respect for guys who have been in the league for a while. The Bryants, or Kobe. These are the KGs. Family of Paul Pierce. As a young player, you get to watch how the league’s veterans have fared after 15 years or more. You aim to mimic their success. It’s Vince Carter. James LeBron. All the heroes you admire and want to one day become. That’s what I’m aiming towards. Existing for the longest time feasible.

Contrary to what he claims, it is not simple. Michael Jordan announced his second retirement from the NBA at the age of 35, just a few months after capturing his sixth championship with the Chicago Bulls. (He’d be back.) Larry Bird retired at the age of 35 due to a persistent back injury. (He didn’t) Allen Iverson played in Turkey after retiring from the NBA at age 35.

When it comes to the athletes Durant addressed…

Four months before his 35th 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡day, Kobe Bryant tore his Achilles, the first of several injuries that quickly ended his career. Although Kevin Garnett was still an All-Star at age 35, he was no longer a double-double machine. Paul Pierce was still a solid player at the age of 35, but his All-Star days were over. Amazing Vince Carter, at age 35, was a supporting cast member.

LeBron?

He’s an outlier like Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors. Other examples exist as well. Both Dirk Nowitzki and Karl Malone participated in All-Star games well into their 30s. Chris Paul, then 36 years old, finished first in the NBA in assists in the 2021-22 season. But eventually, even the brightest stars have to reinvent themselves. Durant, who is signed with the team through the 2025–26 season despite a history of injuries, is not present.

Until he suffered a knee injury in January, Durant was an MVP candidate for the Brooklyn Nets last season. At the trade deadline, he was sent to Phoenix, where he played three games before spraining his ankle in warmups. Despite this, Durant was one of the league’s best shooters in 47 games, averaging 29.1 points on 56.9 percent field goal shooting, 40.4 percent 3-point shooting, and 91.9 percent free throw shooting.

The rest of his crew doesn’t think he’ll alter much.

Keita Bates-Diop faced off against Durant quite frequently during his tenure with the San Antonio Spurs. The aim is to deny him possession of the ball at all costs. Try to herd him into a throng once he figures it out, because he’s awesome in outer space.

Bates-Diop, who stands at 6 feet 8 inches tall, remarked, “Obviously, he’s 7 feet tall so he can shoot over anybody.” “Even at my height, he still can’t see it. Since he doesn’t interact with many people, this is making things more challenging for him, pushing him to his social limits, and making him feel uneasy.

Bates-Diop is one of 13 new players for Phoenix, who are all there to provide the supporting cast that Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal will need to bring the Suns their first NBA title. Many of the players are experiencing Durant for the first time in practice. The Athletic polled three people to see if Durant is showing signs of aging.

“No, no,” Bates-Diop emphasized. Even though he just turned 35, I haven’t noticed any change in him. The spring in his step remains undimmed. His jumper was not cut short. He looks no older than 25.

S.,” said Jusuf Nurki. There is nothing there, guy. If he hadn’t had his 35th 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡day just a few days earlier, I never would have guessed that his current appearance belied his age.

Grayson Allen: “We played the Warriors when KD was there on opening night of my first NBA regular season game when I was in Utah. For the first time, I felt like I could just kind of watch him compete and play. From that point on, he was unquestionably one of the finest players in the league and the top scorer in my eyes. It’s impressive that he can compete at both ends of the court while being counted on for 30 points.

The rules are now different. The game has shifted. Former Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel is currently Durant’s mentor in Phoenix. An observation he has made regarding them is as follows: “I think taking care of your body is an important part of it, but I also think going hard throughout your career in all your job, you build your body up so your body is never surprised by high-intensity labor. That’s just how these jerks operate.

This season, Durant’s workload could be closely watched. Vogel has stated that the Suns may achieve their goal of adopting a commonsense strategy by engaging in “constant conversation.” In September, the NBA passed a “Player Participation Policy” to increase the number of minutes that its best players get to log. Due to his age and length of service, Durant may qualify for special consideration.

The Suns didn’t play Durant, Booker, and Beal in Tuesday’s preseason home game against the Denver Nuggets because they wanted to rest them for the regular season. The three stars made up for the reduced playing time by staying late for the team’s pregame shooting session to put in extra work. Durant raced from side to side while receiving passes from assistant coach John Lucas III and completing a series of shooting drills. This is what keeps Durant going after 16 years; it’s the secret to his longevity.

It just happened,” Durant remarked; “I don’t know that I can offer you keys or like some secret potion or magic that transpired.” Just trying to improve every day and having a genuine love for the game. That will just make you go to the gym nonetheless. That’s all there is to it. The things you devote the most time to improving at will become your strengths. It’s useless if you don’t put it to good use. That’s how I’ve been trying to look at things.