The Durant Speech

In a week when Donald and Shelly Sterling were seemingly engaged in a contest to determine which of them was a greater embarrassment to the NBA community (or the human race, for that matter), we thankfully had one of the most remarkable speeches ever delivered by an athlete to take back the headlines.

It's long, but Kevin Durant's speech is worth watching in its entirety.  Worth it for the raw emotion, worth it for the graciousness he shows to every single one of his teammates, worth it for the love and respect shown to Russell Westbrook, his most important collaborator, and of course worth it for heartfelt and moving comments about his mother.

We'll never know for certain the role that the speech played in the Thunder's hard fought triumph over the L.A. Clippers, but it couldn't have hurt.  And while I still doubt their ability to win a seven game series over the remarkable San Antonio Spurs, I wouldn't count them out either.

In more ways than one, Kevin Durant has cemented his reputation this year as one of the all-time greats.  Well done.