This Christmas, Durant will be on court instead of couch
Kevin Durant used to be able to sit around with his family and watch movies on Christmas.
It was the one day in the middle of basketball season that he didn't have any practices, shoot-arounds or pre-game scouting sessions to attend. Even last year as a freshman at Texas, Durant returned home for Christmas.
"We rarely got to hang out a lot because my mom worked, and me and my brother went to school, then played ball, had practice and stuff like that," he said. "We just hung out."
Those times of lounging around Christmas Day are over for Kevin Durant, who is still very much a kid at 19. The Seattle star will be the focus of tonight's nationally televised matchup between the SuperSonics and the Portland Trail Blazers, winners of 10 straight.
When the NBA announced its three-game Christmas Day schedule, the nightcap was to be a showcase of the top two picks in June's draft - No. 1 selection Greg Oden and Kevin Durant, the No. 2 pick. That meeting was dashed when Oden was sidelined for the season with a knee injury, leaving the big stage to Durant.
"It's kind of an honor," said Kevin Durant, averaging a rookie-best 19.9 points. "Christmas is a big day. It's a very big day."
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