Kevin Durant is one of the generational talents to step on the NBA floor. However, he is now 35 and realizes that the league has to make its way for the new and upcoming hoopers to unfurl their talents. KD recently appeared in an exclusive interview with his longtime partner Rich Kleiman for the Boardroom Cover Story. During the interview, Kleiman asked him to predict the best player in the upcoming 10 years among the young generation of the league.
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Without hesitance, the Phoenix Suns forward picked 2024 1st overall pick Victor Wembanyama and the Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards for the same. Praising the Timberwolves guard, KD said, “He’s a team builder,” hinting at how the Wolves could perhaps build a core around him the same way they tried around Kevin Garnett when they first signed the high-school prodigy in 1995.
Durant seemed highly impressed by Edwards’ demeanor and added, “His personality hits a demeanor at something you can build around people coming into the gym and say, ‘Yo, be like that!”
Indeed, Edwards is known to put in the hard work and effort in his team performances, which is reflected in his stats sheet. Other players in the franchise would want to be around such an inspiring and hardworking figure in the gym, thus inculcating a good bond and team chemistry within the roster. Being part of championship-winning teams, Durant understands the value of such a figure in a team’s roster, which is crucial for building the championship mentality within a franchise.
The same nature can be attributed to Wemby as well. Though Durant didn’t specifically comment on Wemby, it’s evident from his answer how he sees the same qualities as Edwards in the young French prodigy. While answering, Durant hesitated to name any other players on his list, having confidence and faith that both Edwards and Wembanyama would be the best of the best in dominating the league within the next ten years.
Wemby and Edwards are putting incredible numbers on the stat sheet to prove their worth as generational talents. As a rookie, Wemby is averaging 20.5 points, 10 rebounds, and 3.2 assists, per game for the Spurs, while the Ant-Man is putting up an impressive 26.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 5.3 assists, per game this season.
While Wemby’s prospect was well-measured even before getting drafted into the league, Anthony Edwards proved to be a legitimate superstar since his first All-Star appearance in the 2022-23 season. Kevin Durant’s thoughts on Victor Wembanyama and Anthony Edwards concur with several NBA pundits and experts who have predicted the phenomenal rise of these players. In return, even Edwards has given his flowers to the Suns forward.
Anthony Edwards considers Kevin Durant his favorite player of all time
Anthony Edwards considers Kevin Durant as his favorite player of all time. Edwards grew up around when KD was at the peak of his career. Inspired by the Slim Reaper’s approach and work ethic towards the game, Edwards developed a similar perspective for his own style of play, reflected in his stats and averages over his three seasons in the NBA. One way KD inspired Ant-Man was to create his signature shoes dedicated to his loved ones among his family and friends.
KD had dedicated his signature shoes with Nike to his grandmother and mother, which came out as the KD 16 ‘Ms. Wanda’ shoes and KD ‘Aunt Pearl’ shoes. On the other hand, Anthony Edwards recently signed a signature shoe deal with Adidas and aspires to make his shoes like KD did. Indeed, the Slim Reaper left a lasting impact on the league’s younger generation, who would carry the baton of his legacy forward in the future.
