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Kevin Durant Doesn't Think His NBA Career Will Earn Him a Statue Like Dwyane Wade

Durant has played on four NBA teams, winning two titles with the Warriors.

Madison Williams

Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant reacts to a play.
Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant reacts to a play. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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The topic of which NBA players deserve a statue outside an arena once they retire has come up a lot recently since Dwyane Wade's statue reveal outside of the Miami Heat's Kaseya Center.

In his speech at the statue reveal, Wade named three current NBA players who he thinks deserve a statue after their careers end: LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant.

When Kay Adams asked Durant about this shoutout, Durant said he was honored, but he doesn't think he will earn a statue.

"I highly, highly doubt I get a statue of me put anywhere for playing basketball," Durant said. "It's usually those guys that got the Hall of Fame career, with championships, you been with one city for a long time. That's not the case for me."

Durant's career definitely looks different than any NBA players who do receive statues. Durant's played on four teams, winning two NBA titles with the Golden State Warriors. But, NBA fans don't typically think of the Warriors first when hearing Durant's name—it's likely the Oklahoma City Thunder, where Durant started his career and played the longest. But, he didn't win any titles with the Thunder.

It's different for Curry, who has stuck with the Warriors his whole career and brought the team four NBA titles, and for James, who has jumped around teams, but has won four titles with three different teams.

Only time will tell if Durant earns a statue outside of an arena one day, his career isn't quite over yet.

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Madison Williams
MADISON WILLIAMS

Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.

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