At 23, Durant dominates beyond his years
Thunder forward leads a surprisingly young cast in Oklahoma City
OKLAHOMA CITY — President Barack Obama was working with a public housing program.
Bill Gates was moving his new company Microsoft from New Mexico, as he was turned down for a loan.
Pope Benedict XVI was studying in seminary.
We’re just compiling a list of what some people were doing when they were 23 years old.
It’s an operative age in the NBA Finals, as Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant is trying to take over the league, lock, stock and LeBron James. And in idle moments, he passes to Russell Westbrook. Also 23.
Mitt Romney was an undergraduate at Brigham Young.
Warren Buffett worked as a stockbroker in Nebraska.
Tom Hanks was acting in theatre in Cleveland.
But Durant has led the league in scoring three times and is going against James for — to overuse again the worn cliché of the moment — the BPP award. Best Player on the Planet.
Should Durant keep taking over fourth quarters, the challenge in the NBA Finals will be remembering just how young this guy is. But then, as Shane Battier of the Miami Heat observed, “Talent matters in this league. Age doesn’t matter.”
Still, when Durant’s jump shots start floating in from the stratosphere — his arms at his release point could also be used to rescue cats from tree limbs — it’s easy to think him a tad more grizzled.
At 23, future all- time NBA scoring leader Kareem AbdulJabbar had 4,957 points in regularseason games. Durant has 9,978.
Michael Jordan had won one playoff game. Larry Bird had just finished his rookie season.
At 23, Peyton Manning had 16 NFL victories. Eli Manning had started seven games. Aaron Rodgers had started none. Tom Brady had played in one game. Joe Montana had thrown 23 NFL passes.
At 23, Barry Bonds had 42 home runs. Babe Ruth was a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and had 20.
There are times when Durant seems like the kid he is. He was talking of Game 1 and how the pre- game tumult had “kind of made me a little nervous. ... I’ve never seen this many people here in Oklahoma City before at a basketball game.”
But there are times when he seems the sage. The question was why he never appears to grow too frustrated or impatient when the shots aren’t happening. “I just know it’s going to come back around.”
There is an unusual phenomenon going on in Oklahoma City, with a cast in their early 20s doing most of the heavy lifting, Durant heaviest of all.
At 23, Kobe Bryant had three NBA championships in Los Angeles but was aided and abetted by several veteran Lakers, starting with Shaquille O’Neal.
Derek Fisher, too. Now he’s Durant’s teammate.
When Fisher made his NBA debut with the Lakers, Durant was 8. Fisher has been around enough blocks to understand the novelty of the Thunder’s act. Championships are supposed to be won by teams with more mileage.
“This team is in the process of trying to kind of rewrite that, where regardless of experience in the NBA, you can win,” he said. “I think the experience for these guys in international play and playing on the big stage in the world championships [ Durant was there in 2010] and Olympics are helping speed up the process.
“This is not a scary sight for them. They’ve represented their entire country before, so playing in the Finals is not that overwhelming.”
Durant did not seem especially overwhelmed going for 36 points his first Finals game.
At 23, Ringo Starr had spent less than a year as a drummer for a new group, the Beatles.
Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling was doing an office job for Amnesty International.
David Stern was in law school.
At 23, a person has usually only just begun. If that’s true, how difficult will it be to stop Kevin Durant when he’s 26?