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Map of the United States showing the state nicknames as hogs. Lithograph by Mackwitz, St. Louis, 1884.

The London underground is nicknamed "The Tube"

"a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.",^[1] or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name.

It is not interchangeable with a term called "short-for". It can also be the familiar or truncated form of the proper name,^[2] which may sometimes be used simply for convenience (e.g. "Bobby", "Bob", "Rob", or "Bert" for the name Robert).

The term hypocoristic is used to refer to a nickname of affection between those in love or with a close emotional bond, compared with a term of endearment. The term diminutive name refers to nicknames that convey smallness, hence something regarded with affection or familiarity (e.g., referring to children), or contempt.^[3]

The distinction between the two is often blurred. It is a form of endearment and amusement. As a concept, it is distinct from both pseudonym and stage name, and also from a title (for example, City of Fountains), although there may be overlap in these concepts.

A nickname is sometimes considered desirable, symbolising a form of acceptance, but can often be a form of ridicule.

Etymology[link]

The compound word ekename, literally meaning "additional name", was attested as early as 1303.^[4] This word was derived from the Old English phrase eaca "an increase", related to eacian "to increase".^[5] By the fifteenth century, the misdivision of the syllables of the phrase "an ekename" led to its reanalysis as "a nekename".^[6] Though the spelling has changed, the pronunciation and meaning of the word have remained relatively stable ever since.

Conventions in various languages[link]

To inform an audience or readership of a person's nickname without actually calling them by their nickname, English nicknames are generally represented in quotes between the bearer's first and last names (e.g., Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower, Daniel Lamont "Bubba" Franks, etc.), however it is also common for the nickname to be identified after a comma following the full real name or later in the body of the text, such as in an obituary. The middle name is generally eliminated (if there is one), especially in speech. Like English, German uses (German-style) quotation marks between the first and last names (e.g., Andreas Nikolaus „Niki“ Lauda). Other languages may use other conventions; for example, Italian writes the nickname after the full name followed by detto 'called' (e.g., Salvatore Schillaci detto Totò), in Spanish the nickname is written in formal contexts at the end in quotes following alias (e.g. Alfonso Tostado, alias «el Abulense»), and Slovenian represents nicknames after a dash or hyphen (e.g., Franc Rozman – Stane). The latter may cause confusion because it resembles an English convention sometimes used for married and maiden names.

Uses in various societies[link]

In Viking societies, many people had nicknames heiti, viðrnefni, or uppnefni which were used in addition to, or instead of their family names. In some circumstances the giving of a nickname had a special status in Viking society in that it created a relationship between the name maker and the recipient of the nickname, to the extent that the creation of a nickname also often entailed a formal ceremony and an exchange of gifts.^{[citation needed]}

Slaves have often used nicknames, so that the master who heard about someone doing something could not identify the slave. In capoeira, a Brazilian martial art, the slaves had nicknames to protect them from being caught, as practicing capoeira was illegal for decades.^{[citation needed]}

In Anglo-American culture, a nickname is often based on a shortening of a person's proper name, a diminutive. However, in other societies, this may not necessarily the case.

In Indian society, for example, generally people have at least one nickname (call name or affection name) and these affection names are generally not related to the person's proper name. Indian nicknames very often are a trivial word or a diminutive (such as Bablu, Dabbu, Banti, Babli, Gudiya, Golu, Sonu, Chhotu, Raju, Adi, Ritu, etc.).

In Indonesia, nicknames are often considered more polite and affectionate, especially when the real name exceeds two syllables. Former Indonesian presidents Abdurrahman Wahid and Achmed Sukarno were usually called 'Gus Dur' and 'Bung Karno', respectively.

In Australian society, Australian men will often give ironic nicknames. For example, a man with red hair will get the nickname 'Bluey'.

Performing arts[link]

Many writers, performing artists, and actors have nicknames, which may develop into a stage name or pseudonym. A bardic name may also result from a nickname. Many writers have pen names which they use instead of their real names. Famous writers with a pen name include Voltaire, Molière, George Sand, Lewis Carroll, Mark Twain, George Orwell, Dr. Seuss, and Lemony Snicket.

Computing[link]

In the context of information technology, a nickname (or technically a nick) is a common synonym for the screenname or handle of a user.

Nickname is a name to shorten a name. Nick is a term originally used to identify a person in a system for synchronous conferencing. In computer networks it has become a common practice for every person to also have one or more nicknames for the purposes of anonymity, to avoid ambiguity or simply because the natural name or technical address would be too long to type or take too much space on the screen.

Nicknames for people[link]

"I, Jimmy Carter..." James Earl Carter is sworn in as President of the United States using his nickname "Jimmy".

Nicknames are usually awarded to, not chosen by the recipient. Nicknames may be based on a person's name or various attributes. Attributes upon which a nickname may be based include:

Title[link]

They may refer to a person's occupation, social standing, or title. They may also refer to characterists of a person.

• "Bones" for a forensic scientist, surgeon, or mortician
• "Sawbones" for a surgeon.
• "Doc" for a doctor.
• "Sparky" for an electrician
• "Sarge" for a military Sergeant as in the comic strip Beetle Bailey
• "Lou" for a Lieutenant (for example, a police lieutenant)
• Similarly, "Chief" for a police or fire chief
• Moneybags for a wealthy person.
• Genius or brains for some one at school who is believed to be a clever person, although it should be said that "genius" in this colloquial sense is not the same as the technical use of the term "genius" in psychology.

Physical characteristics, personality, or lifestyle[link]

Physical characteristics[link]

The Weimaraner's coat color led to its nickname of the "Silver Ghost".

Nicknames can be a descriptor of a physical characteristic, or the opposite of a physical characteristic. It should be noted that in English, such nicknames are often considered offensive or derogatory, unless the nickname is based on a trait that is viewed positively. Some examples of nicknames related to physical characteristics include:

• Weight: "Fatso" or "Slim" for a person who is overweight or thin.
• Height: "Beanpole" or "Short Fry" for a person who is tall or short.
• Hair colour: "Red", "Ginger", "Ranga", or "Bluey" for a person with red hair. "Blondie" a girl with blonde hair.
• Type of hair: "Curley" or "Cue Ball" for a person without hair as in "Curley" from "The Three Stooges"
• Skin Colour: "Pinky" for a person with Rosacea

Sometimes nicknames are based on things that alter a person's physical appearance. Such nicknames can be temporary.

• "Four-eyes" for a person with glasses
• "Train tracks", "tin teeth", or "braceface" for a person with braces, such as Sharon Spitz on the animated series Braceface
• "Zit" can be a name for someone with pimples.

All of the above examples would be offensive in most contexts.

Personality[link]

Nicknames can be a descriptor of a personality characteristic, or the opposite of a personality characteristic. These types of nicknames were often used in fairy tales such as "Snow White". Sometimes such nicknames may be indicative of a physical disorder.

• Talkative:"Motormouth","Chatterbox","Ratchet-Jaw"
• Cautious: "Nervous Nellie"
• Tired Demeanor: "Sleepy" as in a dwarf from Snow White
• Pessimistic: "Sad Sack"

Mental characteristics[link]

A nickname may allude to a person's apparent intelligence (though often used sarcastically):

• Encyclopedia, as in Donald Sobol's fictional child detective Leroy "Encyclopedia" Brown
• Einstein, referring to the famous physicist.
• Sherlock, in reference to A. C. Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.
• Brainiac, as in the fictional DC Comics character.
• Dopey, as in the dwarf from Snow White

Lifestyle[link]

• Promiscuity: "Hot Lips" as in the character "Margaret Houlihan" from the novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors.

Mary Mallon (1870–1938) was nicknamed "Typhoid Mary"

Abbreviation or modification[link]

A nickname can be a shortened or modified variation on a person's real name.

• Contractions of longer names: Margaret to Greta.
• Initials using the first letters of a person's first and last name.
• Dropping a Letter: With many nicknames a letter, usually R, is dropped: Fanny from Francis, Walt from Walter.
• Phonetic Spelling : Sometimes a nickname is created through the phonetic spelling of a name Len from Leonard.
• Letter Swapping: During the middle ages, the letter R would often be swapped for either L or D: Hal from Harry, Molly from Mary, Sadie from Sarah, Robert: Hob, Dob, Rob, Bob and Nob, from Richard: Rick, Dick, and Hick; Bill from Will (which in turn comes from William), and Peg from Meg (which is derived from Margaret).
• In the 19th century, frontier America, Mary and Molly were often given the nickname Polly.

Name portions[link]

• Front of name:Sometimes a nickname can come from the front: Chris from Christopher/Christina, Ed from Edward/Edmond/Edgar/Edwin, Iz or Izzy from Isaac/Isaiah/Isidore/Izale/Isabel/Isabella, Joe or Jo from Joseph/Josephine/Joanna, Abby from Abigail, Nick or Nico from Nicholas, Peg from Peggy, Sam from Samuel/Samantha/Samson
• End of Name: Drew from Andrew, Xander from Alexander, Eth from Kenneth, Topher from Christopher, Beth from Elizabeth
• Middle of Name: Liz from Elizabeth or Del/Della from Adelaide
• Addition of Diminutives to Names:Before the 17th century, most nicknames had the diminutive ending "in" or "Kin", where the ending is attached to the first syllable: Watkin/Walter/Wat-kin Hobkin/Robert/Hob-kin or Thompkin/Thomas/Thom-Kin. While most of these have died away, a few remain such as Robin (Rob-in, from Robert), Hank (Hen-Kin from Henry), Jack (Jan-kin from John), and Colin (Col-in from Nicolas).
• Many nicknames usually drop the final one or two letters and add ether ie/ee/y as an ending: Davy from David, Charlie from Charles, Danny/Dani/Danie from Daniel/Danielle and Jimmy from James
• In some cases, another name may be used as a nickname.
• Initialization, which forms a nickname from a person's initials: A.C. Slater from Albert Clifford Slater
• Nicknames are sometimes based on a person's last name ("Tommo" for Bill Thompson) or a combination of first and last name ("Droopy" for Andrew Peterson, or "A-Rod" for Alex Rodriguez)
• Loose ties to a person's name with an attached suffix: Gazza for English footballer Paul Gascoigne (though used more widely in Australia for Gary) and similar "zza" forms (Hezza, Prezza, etc.) for other prominent personalities whose activities are frequently reported in the British press. (See also Oxford "-er" for a similar but wider phenomenon.)
• Combination of first and middle name, or variations of a person's first and middle name. For example, a person may have the name Mary Elizabeth but has the nickname "Maz" or "Miz" by combining Mary and Liz.

Relationship[link]

They may refer to the relationship with the person. This is a term of endearment.

• In Japanese culture, Japanese honorifics are designed so that a term of endearment conveys the exact status of the relationship between two people. However, the recipient of the honorific is allowed to restrict the use when used by a certain person.

Surname[link]

To avoid confusion between peer groups with the same given names, surnames may be used.

Family[link]

A nickname can be used to distinguish members of the same family sharing the same name from one another. This has several common patterns among sons named for fathers:

• The first bearer of the name can be referred to as Senior, Daddy or have "Big", or "Older" placed in front of his given name, as in "Big Pete", or "Older Pete".
• A son named after his father (but not after his grandfather) is often referred to as Junior, Chip (also a diminutive of Charles, but in this case in reference to "a chip off the old block"), Skip, Sonny, Bud, Buddy, or Deuce. Skip can also refer to a man named after his paternal grandfather, implying that the name "skipped" a generation. Another common, but much less popular nickname for a son named after his father is having "Little" placed in front of his name, as in "Little Pete", though this tends to be avoided if possible (especially if the son happens to become physically bigger than the father he's named after, and/or when the son becomes a full grown adult, regardless of if he does, or doesn't physically outgrow the father he shares a name with), due to its unpopularity with most sons who share the same name with their fathers. Likewise, a similar, and more acceptable form of this kind of nickname is to have "Younger" placed in front of the son's name instead, as in "Younger Pete".
• The third generation carrying a name (usually with III after his name) is often referred to as Trey, Tripp, or Trip (from Triple). Skip also is a frequently used nickname for "thirds" because they "skipped" being a "Junior".
• The fourth generation carrying a name (usually with IV after his name) may be referred to as Ivy, (as in IV) Quad, Quadry, or Dru (from Quadruple).
• The fifth generation carrying a name (usually with V after his name) may be referred to as Quint, Quince, Quincy, or Quinton (from Quintuple).

Action/incident[link]

It may relate to a specific incident or action.

• Capability Brown was so called because he used the word "capability" instead of "possibility".
• Chemical Ali and Comical Ali.
• Thirteen for Dr. Remy Hadley from TV's House M.D., because she was assigned the number 13 in her job interview process and continued to be called by her number even after she was hired.
• "Opa" for the Dutch lifesaving KNRM-hero Dorus Rijkers. Dorus became a Grandpa (Dutch:Opa), at the age of 23 (by marriage to a widow with eight children), and soon everybody called him Opa.
• "The Falling Man" for one of the jumpers during the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center terrorrist attacks.

Famous/fictional character[link]

It may compare the person with a famous or fictional character.

• Napoleon or Hitler for someone with a dictatorial manner.
• Pollyanna for someone with a very optimistic view of things.
• Hawkeye as in Hawkeye Pierce for someone who can make light of a most devastating situation, from the TV series M*A*S*H

Place of origin/residence[link]

It may be related to their place of origin or residence.

• Gloucester, Paul from Gloucester or PFG for someone named Paul who comes from Gloucester.
• Newf or Newfie a person from Newfoundland,Canada

Reputation[link]

It may be derived from or related to what the person is well known for.

• The Duke for John Wayne
• The Angel of Death for Josef Mengele
• The Hangman, The Blonde Beast for Reinhard Heydrich

Affiliation[link]

It may refer to a person's political affiliation.

• Dipper for a member of Canada's New Democratic Party.
• Tory for a person affiliated with the United Kingdom's or Canada's Conservative Party.

Unique[link]

A famous person's nickname may be unique to them:

• Tippecanoe for William Henry Harrison
• Dubya for George W. Bush, a Texan pronunciation of the name of the letter 'W', President Bush's middle initial.

Nicknames of geographical places[link]

Hirakata-shi, Osaka, Japan. Nickname road "Gingko street"

Many geographic places adopt nicknames because they can help in establishing a civic identity, help outsiders recognize a community or attract people to a community because of its nickname, promote civic pride, and build community unity.^[7] Nicknames and slogans that successfully create a new community "ideology or myth"^[8] are also believed to have economic value.^[7] Their economic value is difficult to measure,^[7] but there are anecdotal reports of cities that have achieved substantial economic benefits by "branding" themselves by adopting new slogans.^[8]

Collective nicknames of inhabitants of a geographical place[link]

Besides or replacing the demonym, some cities and villages have collective nicknames for their inhabitants. This tradition is still strong nowadays in Wallonia (Belgium), where this sort of nickname is referred to in French as "Blason populaire".

See also[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Look up nickname in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Sports Nicknames: 20,000 Professionals Worldwide by Terry W. Pruyne

John McWhorter at the International Symposium On Malay/Indonesian Linguistics conference in Leiden

John Hamilton McWhorter V (1965– ) is an American linguist and political commentator. He is the author of a number of books on language and on race relations. His research specialties are how creole languages form and how language grammars change as the result of sociohistorical phenomena.

Early life[link]

McWhorter was born and raised in Philadelphia. He attended Friends Select School in Philadelphia, and after tenth grade was accepted to Simon's Rock College, where he earned an A.A. degree. Later, he attended Rutgers University and received a B.A. in French in 1985. He received a master's degree in American Studies from New York University and a Ph.D. in linguistics in 1993 from Stanford University.

Career[link]

After graduation McWhorter was an associate professor of linguistics at Cornell University from 1993 to 1995 before taking up a position as associate professor of linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley, from 1995 until 2003. He left that position to become a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank. From 2006 to 2008 he was a columnist for the New York Sun. He is Contributing Editor at The New Republic and The Root.com, writes a biweekly column at The New York Daily News and also writes regularly for Rupert Murdoch's The Daily. Since 2008, he has been a lecturer in linguistics, American Studies, and the Core Curriculum at Columbia University.^[1]

He has published a number of books on linguistics and on race relations, of which the better known are The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language, Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English, Doing Our Own Thing: The Degradation of Language and Music and Why You Should, Like, Care, and Losing the Race: Self-Sabotage in Black America. He makes regular public radio and television appearances on related subjects. He is interviewed frequently on National Public Radio and is a frequent contributor on Bloggingheads.tv. He has appeared twice on Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, once in the profanity episode in his capacity as a linguistics professor, and again in the slavery reparations episode for his political views and knowledge of race relations. He has also appeared on The Colbert Report, and appears regularly on MSNBC's "Up With Chris Hayes."

He is the author of the courses titled "The Story of Human Language, "Understanding Linguistics: The Science of Language," and "Myths, Lies and Half-Truths About English Usage" for The Teaching Company. His 2003 Authentically Black has been interview-reviewed on booknotes.org, and he has also been interviewed on CSPAN's "Book Notes In Depth" series.^[2]

Political Views[link]

McWhorter characterizes himself as "a cranky liberal Democrat". In support of this description, he states that while he "disagree[s] sustainedly with many of the tenets of the Civil Rights orthodoxy," he also "supports Barack Obama, reviles the War on Drugs, supports gay marriage, never voted for George Bush and writes of Black English as coherent speech". McWhorter additionally notes that the conservative Manhattan Institute, for which he has worked, "has always been hospitable to Democrats".^[3]

Bibliography[link]

• 1997: Towards a New Model of Creole Genesis ISBN 0-8204-3312-8
• 1998: Word on the Street: Debunking the Myth of "Pure" Standard English ISBN 0-7382-0446-3
• 2000: The Missing Spanish Creoles: Recovering the Birth of Plantation Contact Languages ISBN 0-520-21999-6
• 2000: Spreading the Word : Language and Dialect in America ISBN 0-325-00198-7
• 2000: Losing the Race: Self-Sabotage in Black America
• 2001: The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language ISBN 0-06-052085-X
• 2003: Authentically Black: Essays for the Black Silent Majority
• 2003: Doing Our Own Thing: The Degradation of Language and Music and Why We Should, Like, Care ISBN 1-59240-016-7
• 2005: Defining Creole ISBN 0-19-516669-8
• 2005: Winning the Race: Beyond the Crisis in Black America
• 2007: Language Interrupted: Signs of Non-Native Acquisition in Standard Language Grammars
• 2008: All about the Beat: Why Hip-Hop Can't Save Black America ISBN 1-59240-374-3
• 2008: Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold Story of English ISBN 1-59240-395-6
• 2011: What Language Is (And What It Isn't and What It Could Be) ISBN 978-1-59240-625-8

References[link]

External links[link]

• Biography at Manhattan Institute
• New York Sun columns
• McWhorter's blog at The New Republic
• Cato Institute Podcast: Race Relations and the War on Drugs
• Affirmative Action at Berkeley article, debate on affirmative action
• TheRoot.com article about Black culture identity
• Video interviews and discussions with McWhorter on bloggingheads.tv
• Los Angeles Times review of All about the Beat
• Booknotes interview with McWhorter on Authentically Black: Essays for the Black Silent Majority, March 2, 2003.
• In Depth interview with McWhorter, March 2, 2008

Kevin Durant

Durant playing against the Sacramento Kings
No. 35 – Oklahoma City Thunder
Small forward
Personal information
Born	(1988-09-29) September 29, 1988 (age 23) Washington, D.C.
Nationality	American
High school	Montrose Christian School (MD) Oak Hill Academy (VA)
Listed height	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight	235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
College	Texas
NBA Draft	2007 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2nd overall
Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics[1]
Pro career	2007–present
Career history
2007–present	Seattle SuperSonics / Oklahoma City Thunder
Career highlights and awards
NBA Rookie of the Year (2008) 3× NBA All-Star (2010–2012) NBA All Star Game MVP (2012) 3× NBA scoring champion (2010–2012) 3× All-NBA First Team (2010–2012) NBA All-Rookie First Team (2008) 2× H-O-R-S-E Competition winner (2009–2010) 2010 FIBA World Championship MVP Oscar Robertson Trophy (2007) Adolph Rupp Trophy (2007) Naismith College Player of the Year (2007) John R. Wooden Award (2007)
Stats at NBA.com

Kevin Wayne Durant (born September 29, 1988) is an American professional basketball forward with the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A 6'9" small forward, Durant was the consensus 2007 National College Player of the Year and the 2006–2007 Big 12 Player of the Year, amongst other awards. After a standout freshman season at the University of Texas,^[2] Durant opted to enter the NBA Draft,^[3] where he was selected second overall by the Seattle SuperSonics. There he went on to win the NBA Rookie of the Year Award after his debut season. In 2007, Durant signed an endorsement contract with Nike.^[4] In the 2009–10 season Durant led the NBA in scoring and became the youngest player ever to win the NBA scoring title.^[5] He would later be named to the 2010 All NBA First Team.

High school career[link]

A basketball player from his earliest days, Durant played for a successful Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) youth basketball team, the PG Jaguars. The Jaguars won multiple national championships with Durant and fellow future blue chip recruits Michael Beasley (Timberwolves) and Chris Braswell (UNC-Charlotte). Durant wore, and continues to wear, the No.35 jersey in honor of his childhood mentor and AAU coach, Charles Craig, who was murdered at age 35.^[6] Durant later moved on to play AAU basketball with fellow McDonald's All American Ty Lawson (Denver Nuggets) for the DC Blue Devils. After spending two years at National Christian Academy, and one year at Oak Hill Academy, Durant grew five inches and was 6'7" when he started at Montrose Christian School in Rockville, Maryland for his senior year, during which he grew two more inches.^[7] At Montrose, Durant led the team in scoring and steals and was named the Washington Post All Met Basketball Player of the Year. During his time at Montrose, he played in The Les Schwab Invitational, a nationally drawing invitational basketball tournament in Oregon State. Durant also played with current New Orleans Hornets point guard Greivis Vasquez while at Montrose. Vetter described Durant as a hard working player, complete with size, and incredible skills in shooting, ball handling, defense, and even some post up moves.^[8] Durant also was named a McDonald's All American and named co-MVP of the 2006 McDonald's All American game along with Chase Budinger. Behind Greg Oden, Durant was widely regarded as the second-best high school prospect.^[9][10]

College career[link]

Durant during his tenure at Texas.

A 6'9" swingman with a 7'5" wingspan,^[11] Durant was one of four freshman starters for the University of Texas basketball team. Durant started in all 35 games of the season, which culminated with a loss in the second round of the NCAA tournament to the University of Southern California. Texas finished third in the conference with a 12–4 record and was the runner-up in the 2007 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament.^[12]

Although he had a slender frame, Durant frequently used it to his advantage by posting up bigger players, while shooting over smaller guards.^[13] ESPN analyst Dick Vitale praised Durant as the "most prolific offensive skilled big perimeter" ever and proceeded to compare Durant's game to those of current NBA stars like Kevin Garnett and Dirk Nowitzki.^[14] After a 37-point, 23-rebound winning performance against the Texas Tech Red Raiders, head coach Bob Knight described Durant as quick, fast and mobile, and being "really good".^[15] Texas coach Rick Barnes admitted to rarely calling set plays for Durant, instead relying on Durant himself and on his teammates to find him within the flow of the offense.^[16]

Coming into the season, Durant was widely hailed by the media as the Big 12's top freshman and a top candidate to be named Freshman of the Year.^[17] He averaged 25.8 points per game and 11.1 rebounds per game during his freshman season with the Texas Longhorns. In Big 12 games he averaged 28.9 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. His college career high for scoring was 37 points, which he achieved on four occasions. Durant had thirty 20-point games his freshman year, including 37 in a losing effort against Kansas for the regular-season Big 12 title.

In March 2007, Durant was named the NABC Division I Player of the Year,^[18] and received the Oscar Robertson Trophy^[19] and the Adolph F. Rupp Trophy,^[20] becoming the first freshman to win each of these awards. On March 30, 2007, he was selected as the Associated Press college player of the year, becoming the first freshman and the first Texas athlete to receive this award since its inception in 1961.^[18][21] On April 1, 2007, he became the first freshman to receive the Naismith Award^[22] and on April 7, 2007, won the John R. Wooden Award.^[23] Less than a week after being drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics, the University of Texas announced the retirement of Durant's No.35 jersey. The number will now hang in the rafters at the Frank Erwin Center along with the No.11 of former Longhorn great T. J. Ford.^[24] Durant's jersey is now one of nine retired by the University of Texas .^[25]

College statistics[link]

NBA career[link]

Rookie season[link]

Durant at the Super Sonics practice facility.

Durant declared himself eligible for the 2007 NBA Draft on April 11, 2007 and signed his first professional contract on May 25 with the Upper Deck Company, who later heralded Durant to be the focus of their 2007–08 NBA trading card line. On June 28, 2007, Durant was taken second overall in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics. It was expected that either he or Greg Oden, the starting center for Ohio State, were to go Number 1 in the draft. However, Oden was drafted first overall by the Portland Trail Blazers.^[2] In the proceeding month, Durant went on to sign a seven-year, $60 million endorsement deal with Nike—a rookie deal only surpassed by LeBron James' contract with Nike.^[26] In doing so, Durant reportedly turned down a potential $70 million contract with Adidas, opting for Nike since he had worn them all his life.

On October 31, 2007, Durant made his NBA debut with 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals^[27] in a loss to the Denver Nuggets.^[28] On November 16, 2007 Durant made the first game-winning shot of his NBA career with a key 3-pointer to beat the Atlanta Hawks in double overtime.^[29] Durant finished with 21 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks.^[30] On November 30, 2007, Durant scored 35 points to beat the Indiana Pacers.^[31] In a game against the Denver Nuggets, he flirted with a triple double as he came up with 37 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists. In the last game of his rookie season, Durant finally recorded his first double-double of his career with a then career-high 42 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, and also added 5 assists. In addition to leading all rookies in scoring for the season, he was named the NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month for November,^[32][33] December^[34] (2007), January,^[35] March^[36] and April^[37] (2008).^[38] Durant's 20.3 point per game season average broke the SuperSonics' 40-year-old rookie record set by Bob Rule during the 1967–68 season. On April 30, 2008, Associated Press reported that Durant was awarded the NBA Rookie of the Year Award for the 2007–08 season.^[39]

2008–09 season[link]

Kevin Durant at the House of Hoops.

Following the 2007–08 season, the SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma as the Oklahoma City Thunder. Although Durant was not selected to play in the 2009 NBA All-Star Game in Phoenix, he did take part in two events. On February 13, 2009, Durant led the Sophomore team to a 122–116 victory over the Rookie side at the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam. He was crowned the MVP for the game after he set the scoring record with 46 points, breaking the old mark set in 2004 when Suns F-C Amar'e Stoudemire had 36 for the sophomores. The next day, Durant came from behind to win the first ever H-O-R-S-E Competition in NBA All-Star weekend history, beating out Joe Johnson from the Atlanta Hawks and O. J. Mayo from the Memphis Grizzlies after getting four quick letters early in the game.

2009–10 season[link]

Entering the season, the team was not expected to compete for a playoff berth; however, led by Durant, they finished the regular season with 50 wins and earned the eighth seed in the Western Conference playoffs. The 27-game improvement from the previous year was the sixth biggest turnaround in NBA history. Durant won the 2010 H-O-R-S-E contest to win his second in a row. He also made his first All-Star Game appearance, and coached the rookies at the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge and Youth Jam. He became the youngest in league history to win the scoring title at 21, averaging 30.1 points per game, beating out LeBron James. Durant also set the modern record for most games in a row with at least 25 points, breaking Allen Iverson's old record.

On April 18, 2010, Durant made his playoff debut with 24 points in a 79–87 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. He scored 32 in a 95–92 loss in game 2, but responded with 29 points and 19 rebounds in a 101–96 win at Oklahoma City. He then went on to put up 22 points in the game four win against the defending champs. In game 5, Durant chipped in 17 points as his team lost, 111–87. Game 6 ended the season for the Thunder as Pau Gasol tipped the ball in for a buzzer-beating basket. The Los Angeles Lakers went on to round 2 of the playoffs as they won 95–94. Durant scored 26 points in his last game of the season. On May 2, 2010, the NBA announced that Durant finished second in the MVP voting for the 2009–2010 season, behind LeBron James. Durant joined LeBron James as the forwards on the 2010 All-NBA First Team, alongside Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade, as announced by the NBA on May 6, 2010. It was his first selection to an All-NBA team.

2010–11 season[link]

On July 7, 2010, Durant announced on his Twitter page that he signed a 5-year contract extension with the Thunder.^[40] The extension is worth about $86 million.^[41] For a second straight year, Durant led the NBA in scoring, averaging 27.7 points a game^[42] and finished 5th in MVP voting.^[43] Durant made his second All-Star appearance, and scored 34 points, helping the West defeat the East 148–143.^[44] Durant led the Thunder to 55 wins, and the number four seed in the Western Conference. The Thunder lost in the Western Conference Finals to the eventual NBA champions, the Dallas Mavericks.^[45]

2011–12 season[link]

Durant reached his career high in scoring on February 19, 2012, in a home match against the Denver Nuggets that OKC won 124–118. Durant scored 51 points, while his teammate Russell Westbrook scored 40. Durant was voted to play as a starter for the 2012 NBA All-Star Game for the second consecutive year. He scored 36 points and was awarded his first career All-Star Game MVP.^[46]. Durant scored the game-winner with 1.5 left on the game clock to beat Dallas Mavericks 99-98 during game 1 of their 2012 first round NBA playoff series.^[47]

International career[link]

Durant after receiving the gold medal at the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey

In late February 2007, Durant received an invitation to the Team USA Basketball training camp, becoming the second freshman after Greg Oden to achieve this.^[48] After playing only a handful of games in the 2007 NBA Summer League, Durant was chosen to play for Team USA and participate in the State Farm USA basketball challenge, alongside NBA all-stars like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwight Howard.^[49] Although Durant held his own in scoring 22 points for the Blue team in one game, he was ultimately dropped when the roster was trimmed to the twelve-player limit.^[50] Coach Mike Krzyzewski cited the experience of the remaining players as the deciding factor in making the cut.^[50] He was also one of the last cuts to the USA Men's Senior National Team for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Durant was finally able to represent the USA at 2010 FIBA World Championship and turned out to be the go-to-guy since other stars were unavailable for various reasons. Before the tournament, he downplayed this notion saying "he was another guy on the team."^[51] Eventually, he led Team USA to its first FIBA World Championship since 1994 and was named MVP of the Tournament.^[52] Along the way, Durant broke several Team USA scoring records including most points in a tournament (205) and most points in a single game (38). He averaged 22.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.4 steals in nine games.

He has expressed interest in playing for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team.

Personal[link]

Durant is the son of Wanda and Wayne Pratt. He has one sister (Brianna) and two brothers (Tony and Rayvonne).^[53] His grandmother, Barbara Davis, helped to raise him.^[54] Durant and Michael Beasley grew up together having a close friendship and remain best friends.^[55] Durant is a spokesperson for the Washington D.C. branch of P'Tones Records, a nationwide non-profit after school music program.^[56]

From when he entered the draft, in 2007, Durant was represented by agent Aaron Goodwin, but on February 17, 2012, Durant announced he was splitting from Goodwin.^[57]

NBA career statistics[link]

Regular season[link]

Playoffs[link]

Awards and honors[link]

Kevin Durant dunk

• 2010 FIBA World Championship MVP^[52]
• NBA All-Star Game MVP: 2012
• NBA All-Star: 2010, 2011, 2012
• NBA Scoring Champion: 2010, 2011, 2012
• All-NBA First Team: 2010, 2011, 2012
• NBA All-Star Weekend H–O–R–S–E Competition winner: 2009, 2010
• NBA Rookie Challenge MVP: 2009
• NBA Rookie of the Year: 2008
• All-Rookie First Team: 2008

Milestones and records

• Most points in a Rookie Challenge game (46)
• Most points in an NBA All-Star Weekend (46)
• Most points in a FIBA World Championship game by Team USA (38)

Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder Franchise Records

• Consecutive games scoring 30 or more points [7 (twice), from December 22, 2009 to January 2, 2010 and from April 4, 2010 to April 14]

• Broke the record of 6 set by Spencer Haywood in January 1972.

• Consecutive games scoring 25 or more points (29, from December 22, 2009 to February 23, 2010)
• Most 30+ point games in one season (48, 2009–2010)
• Most points in one season (2,472; 2009–2010)

Other achievements[link]

• 2006 Co-MVP McDonald's All-American Game – Shared award with Chase Budinger
• 2007 ESPN All-American^[61]
• 2007 ESPN Player of the Year^[61]
• 2007 NABC Division I Player of the Year^[18]
• 2007 AP Player of the Year (First freshman to achieve the honor)
• 2007 AP All-America 1st Team (unanimous)^[62]
• 2007 Oscar Robertson Trophy^[19]
• 2007 Adolph Rupp Trophy^[20]
• 2007 Naismith Award Winner (First freshman to do so)^[22]
• 2007 John R. Wooden Award All-American Team^[63]
• 2007 John R. Wooden Award Winner^[23]
• Big 12 Rookie of the Week (six times)^[64]
• Big 12 Player of the Week (four times)^[64]
• 2007 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Awards:^[65]
  • Player of the Year
  • Big 12 Freshman of the Year
  • All-Big 12 First Team (unanimous)
  • Big 12 All-Defensive Team
  • Big 12 All-Rookie Team (unanimous)
• 2007 AP National Player of the Year^[66]

See also[link]

• 2006 high school boys basketball All-Americans

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kevin Durant

• Official website
• Career statistics and player information from NBA.com, or Basketball-Reference.com