Kevin Durant Plans to Mentor Thunder Rookie Perry Jones

Despite all the mega-superstar success and public adulation that comes his way, OKC Thunder forward Kevin Durant remains a team-first, me-second kind of guy. We’ve seen it again and again throughout his career, and even with three scoring titles, an NBA Finals appearance and a gold medal under his belt, he’ll probably never change. The latest example: Days after the Thunder drafted forward Perry Jones, Durant picked up the phone, seeked out Jones, and initiated what is now a strong, brotherly bond. Via NBA.com: “While Durant was practicing with Team USA in Las Vegas, then his hometown of Washington, DC before traveling across the Atlantic Ocean to Barcelona, Manchester and London for the Olympics, he was busy. However, that didn’t stop him from welcoming the newest member of the young Thunder core to the squad and making sure Jones knew that he will have support this season, both on and off the court. ‘Perry and I got close over the last few months after we drafted him,’ Durant said. ‘I was happy that he reached a goal, a dream that he had been wanting for a long time…We have a good relationship and I’m looking forward to taking him under my wing and also learning a lot with him as well. I’m just trying to help him become the best and I’m sure he’s going to try to help me become the best as well. It’s going to be a fun relationship.’ After Jones’ first summer league game, Durant checked up on the rookie, and Jones returned the favor after Durant’s Team USA games. ‘He’s a guy that really cares about his team and his teammates,’ Jones said this summer at a Thunder Youth Basketball Camp. ‘A lot of people at his level, players like that, most of them care about themselves. It’s very rare to come around a type of player like that who cares about his team.'”