At least, Kevin Durant didn't finish second.
Weeks after Sports Illustrated's report on the Oklahoma City Thunder's plight of always being second, and one day after his team was knocked out of the NBA playoffs by the Memphis Grizzlies, Durant refused to label 2013 a failure.
"Nothing's ever a wasted year for me. It's basketball," Durant said, according to DailyThunder.com. "I've grown so much as a man since the beginning of the season. I've grown so much as a leader. Nothing is ever wasted. Of course the ultimate goal in this league is to win a championship. But I'm never going to say I wasted a year."
Durant was unable to carry the Thunder through the playoffs after teammate Russell Westbrook suffered a season-ending knee injury in the opening round of the playoffs against the Houston Rockets. The Thunder got past Houston, but couldn't overcome the Grizzlies and lost in five games.
Last season, the Thunder made it to the NBA Finals, losing in five games to the Miami Heat.
In Westbrook's absence against Memphis, Durant averaged 28.8 points, 10.4 rebounds and 6.6 assists in 45.8 minutes per game.
"I'm going to be who I'm going to be," Durant was quoted as saying. "I'm not Kobe Bryant; I'm not Michael Jordan, not LeBron James, not Magic Johnson. I'm me. I'm not going to ever compromise myself or my integrity or what I believe in to win some basketball games or to win a championship. That's just how I was brought up.
"I'm always going to fight for the game I love. I'm going to claw until the last buzzer sounds. If that's after the championship, then of course I'll be happy. I'm not satisfied just being in this league and losing."
Durant's comments may have come in response to what Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers star, once said about losing in the postseason. After the Lakers lost in the second round of the 2011 playoffs to the Dallas Mavericks, Bryant quipped that any season without a championship was "a wasted year of my life."
Three weeks ago, however, Durant had his own rant publicized.
On the cover of the April 29, 2013 edition of Sports Illustrated, Durant was quoted as saying, "I've been second my whole life. I was the second best player in high school. I was the second pick in the (NBA) draft. I've been second in the MVP voting three times. I came in second in the finals. I'm tired of being second. ... I'm done with it."
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