National Basketball Association (NBA)

"If I'd gone straight to the NBA, I don't think I would have been ready as a player or a person."

"I know that the hard work got me here. And the day I stop working hard, this can all go away."

"I'll play all five positions if my team needs me to."

"In this league, experience means a lot."

"I've learned what it feels like to lose, believe me. But I think, in the end, that is just going to make winning that much better."

"I want to be one of the best players in the game."

"I want to go down as a winner."

"I was always in the gym. People would look at me crazy because I spent so much time there. But that's what it was about. I'm glad I did it."

"My mother taught me to always be strong and always work hard. She's been working hard her whole life for me and my brother. I'm a lot like her in that I work hard for what I want. She taught me that."

"With a versatile player, there's no spot on the court you can't pass him the ball. You can do anything."

"He is kind of a cross between George Gervin and Bob McAdoo." - Lorenzo Romar

"He's a once-in-a-lifetime guy." - Rick Barnes

"He's more of a big man than McGrady, a better shooter than Lamar Odom, more perimeter than Garnett." - Pat Forde

"He's prepared almost his entire life for this and he's only going to get better." - Kevin Pratt

"He's really good. The guy is 6-9, he is mobile, he's quick, he's fast. I mean what more does he have to do? There's no secret thing that he drinks before the game." - Bobby Knight

"I know what Kevin's role is. I know what my role is." - Jeff Green

"I'm most proud of how humble he is." - Wanda Pratt

"Kevin Durant is a more athletic Danny Manning." - Jay Bilas

"Kevin Durant is the most prolific offensive skilled big perimeter player I've witnessed in many a year. His equals are three guys that made the jump from high school to the NBA: Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady and Dirk Nowitzki." - Dick Vitale