While Kevin Durant is 35 years old, he’s not showing any signs of slowing down. But when the idea of retirement begins to draw near for Durant, it seems he’s told at least a few former teammates that he’d like to head to Europe and spend time playing there.
Edmond Sumner, who spent the 2022-23 season with Durant on the Nets, explained the future Hall of Famer’s outlook and why he believes a move to Europe to play is possible.
Kevin Durant has talked about finishing his career playing in Europe.
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
“He might pop up, man,” Sumner told Jonas Leksas of BasketNews.com. “I like KD. He was a great teammate and a great person. Hopefully, he gets here. He always says when he’s done with the NBA, he wants to come over here and play.”
“So, let’s see if that actually happens,” Sumner added. “But I believe it, though, because he just loves ball, like that’s all he cares about.”
This isn’t the first time the idea of Durant playing in the EuroLeague has come up, and one prior time was the star saying it himself. Durant joined Serge Ibaka’s How Hungry Are You? podcast and openly stated he’d like to spend his final season with FC Barcelona.
While Durant said he thinks about that when he’s “on the couch, watching TV, dreaming,” he admitted he wasn’t sure if he’d ultimately do it.
Durant is still playing at an elite level and averaging his most points per game (31.0) since the 2013-14 season with the Thunder. He’s also tacked on an impressive 6.4 rebounds and 5.8 assists through 18 games.