“Mom wasn’t selling me”: Kevin Durant gets real about signing NIL deals as college hooper

Kevin Durant revealed his mother, Wanda Durant was the reason he never signed NIL deals during his college career.

“Mom wasn’t selling me”: Kevin Durant gets real about signing NIL deals as college hooper

Kevin Durant revealed his mother was behind not having any NIL deals

Kevin Durant is currently among the top three most influential players in the league. The situation was not so different during his college days. KD was the first freshman to win the National Player of the Year award in 2007. Despite Durant’s remarkable performances, the star never signed an NIL deal during his college career. The former MVP believes the reason behind it was his mother Wanda Durant.

NIL deals are a huge part of college basketball stars’ careers these days. But Kevin Durant comes from a different time as he revealed that his financial situation did not have a drastic change up until his NBA draft. Durant’s mother, who has had an important role in his career, was the one to keep the distractions away from him.

YouTube video

I don’t know how it would’ve been with the NIL for real. Cause my mom wasn’t taking nothing from nobody… We were still living in the same apartment I came up till the day I got drafted. My mom wasn’t really selling me to nobody.

Kevin Durant on Out the Mud podcast.

Durant explained that his mother, Wanda Durant, was focusing more on her son making it to the NBA. The two-time champion admitted that the money from the deals would have helped but his mother was looking at the ‘bigger picture’. By declining those offers, Wanda directed KD to focus on being the best player and playing in the NBA rather than using his talent for financial gains.

FS Video

Durant has always been open about his mother’s sacrifices for his basketball career. During his MVP speech, Durant called his mother the ‘real MVP‘ for making him believe in himself. The 35-year-old never comprehended his life to be where it is today. But Wanda was the one who pushed him to be good since he was 8-9 years old.

Wanda Durant wanted Kevin Durant to stay with the Warriors

Kevin Durant does consider Wanda the reason for his success but it seems that the star did not always listen to his mother. Durant has played for numerous teams in his career but he accomplished the most with the Golden State Warriors. The forward won two championships and two finals MVPs while playing with Stephen Curry. That is the reason, the Slim Reaper received a lot of criticism when he left the team.

Along with the fans, Durant’s mother was also against the player’s decision. Wanda appeared as a guest on ‘Raising Fame’ back in August with Sonya Curry and Lucille O’Neal. During the episode, Wanda and Curry’s mother reflected on their sons’ collective achievements. That’s when Wanda revealed that she did not want KD to leave the Warriors while they were going on a run.

I didn’t want him to go either. We would’ve had 20 rings by now…And it was about 10 years ago. That’s how cold they were.

Wanda Durant said

Wanda might be on the mark here, as the Warriors at the time were considered the best team in NBA history. After Durant’s departure, it took the team four years to win another championship. Durant on the other hand has not won a title ever since.