#1

Our equipment guy gave me a hug today

in Allgemeines 11.06.2019 05:46
von miaowang123 • 300 Beiträge

OKLAHOMA CITY -- In accepting his first MVP award, Oklahoma Citys Kevin Durant made a point of sharing the honour with those who made it possible. In a soul-baring speech that lasted more than 25 minutes, Durant fought back tears several times while thanking each of his teammates, the coaches, support staff and team executives, and finally his family. The emotional outpouring culminated with a tribute to his mother, Wanda Pratt, and the sacrifices she made, 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." Hes really made it now. The young man who said he was told he "wasnt supposed to be here" won the NBAs top individual honour Tuesday, receiving 119 first-place votes. Miamis LeBron James, who had won the last two MVP awards and four of the previous five, 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. "Hes basically put himself in front of everybody else in the league and shown that hes the best player in the world," Westbrook said at the end of the regular season. James agreed, saying Monday: "Much respect to him and he deserves it. He had a big-time MVP season." Durants run of 41 consecutive games this season with at least 25 points was the third-longest streak in NBA history. "It was a two-man race, and then toward the end, it was kind of a no-brainer," Griffin said. James averaged 27.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.3 assists while shooting nearly 57 per cent from the field. Griffin averaged 24.1 points and 10.1 rebounds. Durant scored at least 40 points 14 times. He also averaged 7.4 rebounds and a career-high 5.5 assists while shooting 50 per cent from the field. While Westbrook was out after his most recent knee surgery, Durant averaged 35 points and 6.3 assists as the Thunder went 20-7 and remained among the leagues elite. Teammates and opponents say Durant became a more complete player this season. They praised him for improving his court vision, consistently making the extra pass and moving more efficiently without the ball. "I think we take it for granted," teammate Nick Collison said. "To be able to stay on for long periods of time -- have to cut hard, catch the ball in the right spot and defend on the other end -- is tough to do. To be able to show that shows that he has an edge to him. He doesnt take a night off." Though Durants consistency stood out this season, he had several exceptional games. He scored 48 points on Jan. 4 at Minnesota, then scored 48 again two games later at Utah. He scored a career-high 54 points in a home win against Golden State on Jan. 17 and two games later scored 46 at home in a victory against Portland. Two games after that, he had a triple-double -- 32 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists -- in a win at Philadelphia, and he followed that with 41 points in a victory over Atlanta. He scored 51 points at Toronto on March 21 in a staggering 53 minutes and hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds left in double overtime. He capped it off in the season finale by scoring 21 of his 42 points in the fourth quarter against Detroit and winning the game with a dunk with 16.5 seconds left. The Thunder overcame a 10-point deficit in the quarter to clinch the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. "I put in so much work and so many people helped me," he said. "I feel like we all won it. Our equipment guy gave me a hug today and said, This is my first MVP, and I thought about that. And I said, Yeah, this is our first MVP. I couldnt have done it without the teammates, without the trainer. Everybody. We all just did this together." Xavier Woods Jersey . Chan captured two silver medals at last months Sochi Winter Games — mens singles and the inaugural team event. But he doesnt have the urge to resume training to defend his world title when the event is held in Saitama, Japan, later this month. Rico Gathers Jersey . Villa has already confirmed his short-term deal and the Daily Mirror reported early Tuesday that Lampard will join him as both build up match fitness ahead of moves to the new Major League Soccer franchise New York City. http://www.officialdallascowboysfootball.com/authentic-emmitt-smith-jersey-womens . Listen to the Rangers vs. Kings live on TSN Radio starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. You can also stream the post-game press conferences live on TSN. Charles Haley Jersey . Sundays race will be held at the Sepang circuit, adjacent to Kuala Lumpurs main airport where the ill-fated flight took off earlier this month. Authorities now say it is almost certain it crashed in the Indian Ocean, killing all 239 people aboard. Tony Dorsett Jersey . With the suspension, Nigeria is unable to take part in any kind of international fixtures. FIFA had issued a warning to the NFF last week after the federation was served with court proceedings from the government that prevented the NFFs president from running the NFFs day-to-day affairs.MIAMI -- By now, the Miami Heat know a thing or two about planning championship celebrations. Theyre getting a fair amount of practice. A pair of 3D videos that will turn the court into a theatre screen and even the infamous yellow rope -- which got attention for all the wrong reasons in Game 6 of last seasons NBA Finals against San Antonio -- will be part of the show Tuesday when the Heat distribute their newest championship rings and raise another commemorative banner to the rafters before the teams season-opener against the Chicago Bulls. For the Heat, its their third banner-raising party in seven years, and the second one theyll hold in a span of 12 months. "Its a tremendous amount of pressure to live up to the expectations that we set for ourselves as an organization," said Michael McCullough, the teams executive vice-president and chief marketing officer. "Id say its much more internal-based than external." Elements of the team introduction video have been teased in social media, but not much in the way of details -- especially about the rings -- have leaked out publicly. One known piece of the party is that yellow lanyards, a reminder of the rope that security personnel used to cordon off the court in the last seconds of regulation of Game 6 as it looked the Spurs were about to clinch the title, will be part of a fan-giveaway item. Those security workers had to retreat, and take the rope with theem, when Ray Allen made a 3-pointer with 5.dddddddddddd2 seconds left in regulation to cap a wild Heat comeback and tie the game, which Miami wound up winning in overtime. The rope has been a talking point around Miami ever since. "Its a nod to the importance of that element," McCullough said. The Heat will wear specially designed warm-ups and uniforms, all with gold effects to signify the colour of the championship trophy. The jersey will only be worn on opening night, and is one of 10 that the team plans to wear at various times this season. The team will also be offering a wide range of championship-themed jewelry, including rings, to fans for purchase. All the looking-back is nice, but to the players, whats going on before the game takes a back seat -- for good -- once the new season starts for real. "After we get our rings, thats last year," Heat star and four-time NBA MVP LeBron James said. James made no secret about how much he enjoyed last years ring party, and he and Heat players have said some of the elements that they know about, such as the player video, meet with their approval. "Im going to see some of it, obviously," James said. "Im going to watch a lot of it and I dont take it for granted. We did some special things last year and this is an opportunity for us to look back at it one more time, but I definitely wont lose sight of whats in front of me." 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