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."
