PHOENIX Suns star Kevin Durant opened up about his preparations for retirement in an interview filmed before his successful quest for Olympic gold with Team USA.
The 2014 NBA MVP not only won his fourth gold medal at the Paris Olympics, but also returned home as a minority owner of soccer powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
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Durant has accomplished just about everything he could in professional basketball.
The 6-foot-9 forward has two NBA championship rings, an MVP award, 14 All-Star nods, among other accomplishments, making him a first-ballot Hall of Famer once he becomes eligible.
At the international level, he triumphed with Team USA at the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey, while his four Olympic gold medals are the most won by a men’s basketball player.
Additionally, Durant won the MVP title at the FIBA World Cup and the Olympics, the latter during the 2020 Tokyo Games.
It’s no surprise that the Texan product is thinking more and more about retirement, as he revealed in an appearance on TV One’s Raising Fame.
“As I get older in the league and the league gets younger, I tend to think about retirement more,” the hooper said during episode 6, released on Sunday, August 11, by Suns reporter Duane Rankin.
Durant is known for breathing basketball on and off the court.
And during the show, he admitted to being a little anxious about his post-gaming life.
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“Should I stop thinking about it? What is this? But it’s on my mind for sure,” the Suns forward said.
“I honestly don’t know what I’ll do. I have a lot of different interests. I definitely want to stay in the game.
“I want to continue to develop philanthropy and do things in our hometown, work more with my mother and aunt. That would be fun.”
Durant said he has been building his business empire for more than a decade with his stocks, including the launch of multimedia companies Thirty Five Venture and Boardroom.
He also invested in sports, including football – acquiring a stake in the MLS team Philadelphia Union – and pickleball.
Still, “it’s going to be a huge transition,” Durant, who will turn 36 in September, said of his retirement, while also suggesting he could play for at least two more years.
As I get older in the league and the league gets younger, I tend to think more about retirement
Kevin Durant
“I’ve been at this since I was eight years old. I hope it’s 30 years of doing this, where every day is centered around the game of basketball,” he continued.
“There was no other way of life than this.
“So I just want to have some time and space to really step out of that matrix and figure out who I am as an individual and then step into something and be ready for it.”
Durant has a very close bond with his mother, Wanda – who he has called “the real MVP” in the past.
And the Suns star confirmed he’s consulting with Mama Durant as he considers hanging up his sneakers.
“Of course we talk about it,” he said.
“We talked about… I don’t think I told her how often I think about retirement.
“But we talk about the things I want to do, what I’m interested in.
“I want to practice now what retirement will be like.”
Meeting room announced Durant as PSG’s new minority shareholder on Monday.
The NBA star spent a few million dollars on a stake in the French champions through Arctos Sports Partners, the US private equity group that bought 12.5% of the club last year for ESPN.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
