Kevin Durant’s MVP speech one to remember; will it motivate the Thunder?

Kevin Durant on Tuesday received the MVP award for his terrific play during the regular NBA season. He gave a speech that will never be forgotten here in Oklahoma City, where Wednesday night Durant’s Thunder will host the Clippers in Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinals series.

Durant talked about all of his teammates. One by one, he let them and the rest of the world know how he feels about them. He was as classy as classy can be.

He shared the love he has for his family. When he got to his mother, Wanda, he told her that she was “the real MVP” because of all she had done for him and his brother during some real rough times growing up, when she would go to bed hungry so her two sons wouldn’t have to.

During much of this heartfelt expression, Durant was moved to tears. In a day and age when such demonstrations are looked upon as maudlin because much of society has become hard and would rather hate than love, it was an absolute breath of fresh air.

Kudos to Durant.

By the time his address was over, one had to figure that Durant had pumped some adrenaline into his teammates, even if that wasn’t what he set out to do. It will be interesting to see if it will play a role in Wednesday’s game. The Thunder were routed by the Clippers in Game 1 Monday at Chesapeake Energy Arena. A loss in Game 2 would be devastating to OKC.