Kevin Durant’s Discovery of India: Cows, monkey, dogs and underprivileged people

By: Express News Service | New Delhi | Updated: August 12, 2017 8:28 am

During the three-day trip, Kevin Durant set a Guinness record for the biggest basketball lesson, he met Bollywood actors and top sportspersons but it was the three-and-a-half hours' drive to the Taj Mahal that left the lasting impression.

NBA star Kevin Durant at the Taj Mahal during his trip to India last month. (File photo)

Last year, a week before playing his first game for the Golden State Warriors, Kevin Durant decided enough was enough. Accused of abandoning long-time team Oklahoma City Thunder in favour of the odds-on favourites, the freshly-minted ‘villain’ of NBA told a group of reporters: “Man, whatever I say is going to be twisted up. So, I’m just going to say how I feel from now on. People that know me know what I mean, so it is what it is. Anything I say will be twisted up and be a headline. So it is what it is.”

In a world of clipped headlines and viral GIFs, Durant’s words have often required completing context. For the most part, he calls it as he sees it. Keeping up with his freewheeling approach, the 28-year-old recounted a recent trip to India — “a country that’s 20 years behind in terms of knowledge and experience.”

“It was a unique experience. I went with no expectation, no view on what it’s supposed to be like,” he said, in an interview to The Athletic. “I usually go to places where I at least have a view in my head. India, I’m thinking I’m going to be around palaces and royalty and gold — basically thought I was going to Dubai.”

One can argue that the reigning NBA champion and Finals MVP, out to promote his game, should’ve read up a bit about the country, or the umpteen ‘How to avoid culture shock on your first trip to India’ guides on the internet.

“When I landed there, I saw the culture and how they live and it was rough. It’s a country that’s 20 years behind in terms of knowledge and experience. You see cows in the street, monkeys running around everywhere, hundreds of people on the side of the road, a million cars and no traffic violations. Just a bunch of underprivileged people there and they want to learn hows to play basketball. That s*** was really, really dope to me.”

During the three-day trip, Durant set a Guinness record for the biggest basketball lesson and donated two courts. He was greeted by red carpets, Bollywood actors and top sportspersons but it was the three-and-a-half hours’ drive to the Taj Mahal that left the lasting impression.

“As I was driving up to the Taj Mahal, like I said, I thought that this would be holy ground, super protected, very very clean. And as I’m driving up, it’s like, s***, this used to remind me of some neighborhoods I would ride through as a kid,” said Durant, who grew up in the Maryland suburbs of Washington DC — the recent hotbed of NBA stars. “Mud in the middle of the street, houses were not finished but there were people living in them. No doors. No windows. The cows in the street, stray dogs and then, boom, Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the world. It’s like holy s***, this was built 500 years ago and everyone comes here. It’s just an eye-opener.”

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Kevin Durant might have taken back many memories from his recent India visit but when asked to describe his experience, the Golden State Warriors star said that though it was a unique experience, he returned with a cultural shock.

“Um, it was a unique experience. I went with no expectation, no view on what it’s supposed to be like. I usually go to places where I at least have a view in my head. India, I’m thinking I’m going to be around palaces and royalty and gold — basically thought I was going to Dubai. Then when I landed there, I saw the culture and how they live and it was rough,” Durant told The Athletic in an interview.

The NBA Finals MVP said that India is a country that is 20 years behind in terms of knowledge. Adding that that was a bunch of underprivileged people who want to learn how to play basketball, Durant explained his visit to India.

“It’s a country that’s 20 years behind in terms of knowledge and experience. You see cows in the street, monkeys running around everywhere, hundreds of people on the side of the road, a million cars and no traffic violations. Just a bunch of underprivileged people there and they want to learn how to play basketball. That s— was really, really dope to me,” he said.

During his NBA visit to India, Durant held the largest training session of basketball where 3,459 children trained at the same time to make it a Guniness World Record. His foundation also donated two basketball in New Delhi and he later went to see the Taj Mahal.

Describing his experience of the Taj Mahal visit, he said that it was an eye opener how it was built 500 years ago and people come to see it. He narrated an incident which made his opinion about India.

“Yeah. As I was driving up to the Taj Mahal, like I said, I thought that this would be holy ground, super protected, very very clean. And as I’m driving up, it’s like, s—, this used to remind me of some neighborhoods I would ride through as a kid. Mud in the middle of the street, houses were not finished but there were people living in them. No doors. No windows. The cows in the street, stray dogs and then, boom, Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the world. It’s like holy s—, this was built 500 years ago and everyone comes here. It’s just an eye-opener,” he said.

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杜兰特称印度落后20年引争议 KD：我用词不当

腾讯体育8月12日讯 杜兰特结束印度行之后，接受媒体采访称印度落后20年，这番言论引发争议，杜兰特不得不在推特公开道歉，表示自己用词不当犯了错误。

杜兰特不久前前往印度参加活动，他在回到美国后接受采访，谈到了对印度的印象。“你在那里能看到牛到处跑，满大街猴子乱窜，路边站着几百人乱哄哄的，还有很多车在跑，却没有相应的交通规则，”杜兰特说。

在接受采访时，杜兰特坦言前往泰姬陵的途中，所看到的情景令他想起童年时期的穷苦生活。“街道上尘土飞扬泥泞不堪，很多房子根本没建好就住满了人，那些房子甚至连门窗都没有，”杜兰特接着说，“街上都是牛和流浪狗。从知识和经验上来看，印度要落后20年。”

这是杜兰特对于自己印度行的感受，却引发了争议，一些来自印度的网友对杜兰特进行了抨击，杜兰特不得不在社交媒体致歉，表示自己用词欠妥。

“对不起，我对印度的评论被断章取义了。我非常享受在印度的时光，对于自己说出的那番话，我感到生气，”杜兰特说，“都是我的错，我应该更好地用词。我谈论了印象中德里和现实德里的不同，还将印度篮球与世界篮球进行了比较。我绝无冒犯之意，我会回到那里开办更多的训练营，很抱歉。”