Kevin Durant has been awarded the NBAs title of Most Valuable Player and fought back tears while thanking his mother for helping him reach this point. The emotional outpouring culminated with a tribute to Wanda Pratt, his mother, when he spoke about the sacrifices she made and the inspiration she provided while raising Durant and his brother in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. You made us believe, Durant said to Pratt, who was at the ceremony in Edmond, Oklahoma. Kept us off the street. Put clothes on our backs, food on the table. When you didnt eat, you made sure we ate. You sacrificed for us. Youre the real MVP. Durant explained that Pratt was a single mother with two boys, and though times were tough while growing up, Pratt always thought something better was ahead. Durant said to appreciate moments like these, he often looks back to gain perspective. One of the best memories I had is when we moved into our first apartment, he said as tears streamed down Pratts face. No bed, no furniture, and we just all sat in the living room and hugged each other, `cause thats when we all thought we made it. In accepting his first MVP award, the Oklahoma Citys player took the title from LeBron James who had won the last two MVP awards and four of the previous five. Durant received 119 first-place votes, James finished second with six first-place votes and Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers was third. Durant, 25, called it surreal and at one point, as he thanked his teammates, he stopped and said, I dont know why Im crying so much. Everything in my life, I had to take it, Durant said. Theyre not going to give it to you out of sympathy. I wouldnt want it any other way. This was another case, if I wanted to win the MVP, I had to go take it. I felt that this was the year I did that During a speech in which Durant revealed a humility and vulnerability rarely displayed by a professional athlete, he also drew some laughs. I could walk in and have a terrible day and I could see Hasheem (Thabeet) smiling at me, at 7-foot-3 with small pants on, he said. That would change my day. Durant mentioned qualities about each teammate, showing respect for the veterans who challenge him and the rookies who inspire him to do things the right way because they look up to him. I go home and I think about that stuff, man, he said. When youve got people behind you, you can do whatever. Durant won his fourth scoring crown in five years by averaging 32 points. The 6-foot-9 forward helped the Thunder go 59-23, second-best in the league, despite playing much of the season without three-time All-Star Russell Westbrook because of a nagging knee injury Read more: dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2622335/Kevin-Durant-cries-thanking-mother-named-NBAs-Most-Valuable-Player.html#ixzz317ZGoZ3Z
Posted on: Thu, 08 May 2014 11:04:38 +0000
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