Complex: It was announced yesterday that you would be in the three-point contest at All-Star Weekend for the first time in your career. How do you feel about your chances?
Kevin Durant: [Laughs.] To be honest, I don’t really think I have a good chance of winning it, it’s just something I wanted to try. To have a little fun, step outside of the box a little bit. But there’s great three-point shooters like James Jones, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce, Dorell Wright, so it’s gonna be tough for me to win. But I’m just trying to go out there and have fun.
Complex: We know you’re helping Serge Ibaka out in the dunk contest. Can you give us any hint as to what you have planned?
Kevin Durant: I don’t want to let you know everything, but he has some tricks up his sleeve, involving props. That’s about all I can say. We’ll be practicing for at least another week or so, and he’ll be ready.
Complex: Here's what the Complex world really wants to know: When are you and Lil B actually going to play one-on-one?
Kevin Durant: We head up to San Francisco next week [Ed.—OKC @ Golden State, Feb. 13!], so I think that’s where he lives. I don’t know if he’s there now or whatever, but if I have time and he has time, we gonna get this going, because he’s been talking a lot of trash.
Complex: What would you do if he won?
Kevin Durant: I haven’t even thought about that. I’d have to give him some tickets, some front-row tickets to a game. But I don’t think I’ll have to go that far. [Laughs.]
Complex: You were in the news recently for some comments you made about Chris Bosh. People know you for being low-key and not really controversial. Do you regret making those statements?
Kevin Durant: You know, I let it get to me a little bit. I’m not the type of person that lets stuff like that get to me. Maybe I shouldn’t have said it, but it is what it is. It’s over, I gotta live with it, it’s something I can’t change. So I stand behind it. Don’t get it confused, I respect him as a player and everything like that, but I’m just standing up for myself and my team.
Complex: If, as you said, Chris Bosh is a "fake tough guy," who would be on your list of real tough guys in the league?
Kevin Durant: [Laughs.] I don’t even know. I guess players that don’t say too much and just go out there and play.
Complex: What do you think would happen if the Lakers got Carmelo?
Kevin Durant: That’s like a video-game team if they got Carmelo. Speculation always comes up in this league, rumors always come up—but nothing’s ever set in stone until it happens. But that team right there would be unbelievable. Hopefully, it really doesn’t happen, because they’re in our conference, but we’ll see what happens.
Complex: People know you as one of the more entertaining NBA guys on Twitter (@KDthunderup). We were all laughing at your recent Scarlett Johansson tweet. Has there ever been anything you tweeted that you later regretted?
Kevin Durant: I might have said some things before, but it’s nothing I really regret. Maybe I should’ve let some things alone—as far as me and Lil B talking, maybe I should’ve left that stuff alone. But nothing really too bad. Twitter is a place where I can let people know what type of person I am, and I got some good feedback from it. More good than bad, so it’s a good outlet to let people know who I am.
Complex: Speaking of Twitter, it was a discussion point when you tweeted that The Blueprint 2 is your favorite album of all time. Some people were questioning that, so I’ll give you a chance to defend that stance now.
Kevin Durant: Just the diversity of how the album sounds. It wasn’t just a typical Jay-Z album—he had a couple of party songs, a couple of songs about how he grew up, it’s just an album where I could listen to all different types of music. So that was probably my favorite one.
Complex: So you like BP2 over The Blueprint?
Kevin Durant: Yeah, I do. I do. Like I said, when I listen to it, it gets my hyped, it gets me amped, and that’s the type of music I like.
Complex: We like how you stand by your opinion.
Kevin Durant: Of course! I got to.
Complex: You were supposed to be on the cover of NBA Elite 11 this year for EA Sports, a game that never came out. What can you say about that, and because you were supposed to be on the EA cover, does that mean you can’t enjoy 2K11?
Kevin Durant: [Laughs.] I was really looking forward to that coming out. It was a dream come true, but it was unfortunate that it didn’t come out. I played 2K11 before, of course, and it’s a great game, obviously, but it would’ve been cool to see myself on a video-game cover. But it didn’t come out. Hopefully, they fix things with NBA Elite and it does come out, but we’ll see. 2K is a great game, I played it a couple of times, I can’t lie about that. It’s unfortunate that I didn’t get to see myself on a game cover.
Complex: We have an idea about who should be on the cover of 2K12, actually.
Kevin Durant: Who do you think?
Complex: You! So, a lot of people toss around nicknames for you, but none has really stuck. The current favored one seems to be “Durantula.” Is that a nickname that you prefer?
Kevin Durant: I mean, that’s something that just came about from somebody. I really don’t mind it. Of course, there’s always people making up nicknames for you, but I’m open to any suggestions. But I like “Durantula,” it’s cool.
Complex: You also tweeted recently about Marcin Gortat dunking on you. We wanted to know what you thought was the best facial dunk of your career.
Kevin Durant: Umm…
Complex: We found one of you when you were in Seattle dunking on Nesterovic that’s nasty.
Kevin Durant. Ahhh, yeah. That was probably my best one. That’s when I really went through somebody, that’s probably the only time. And it was off two feet, and I don’t really jump off two feet that much. I surprised myself a little bit, that’s something I’m gonna always remember. I think that’s my favorite one.
Complex: We need to see more of those!
Kevin Durant: Yeah. I’m just trying to score.
Complex: You’re involved in every aspect of the All-Star festivities this year. Are you getting excited for it?
Kevin Durant: I’m just really trying to focus on these last few games we have left, but of course my mind wanders a little bit. I’m looking forward to just being a part of it. The three-point contest is something that I always watched growing up. And in the dunk-off, I’m just going to support my teammate. And playing in the game is also an honor, especially being a starter. That’s something that I really take pride in, and I really appreciate the fans for voting me in. I’m very happy I’m a part of All-Star Weekend, and hopefully I’ll be in a couple more down the line. It should be fun.
Complex: Who would you say currently is your toughest defender? We know you can shoot over just about anybody, but is there anybody that stands out?
Kevin Durant: There’s a lot of guys. Guys like Tayshaun Prince, Ron Artest, Tony Allen—but mainly this year, it’s been team defense more than individual guys. When I get the ball, I see the whole team basically sitting inside the lane waiting for me. So I have to be smarter in my decisions and help my teammates out a little bit more. Mainly, it’s team defense over individual guys that’s giving me a lot of trouble. So as long as I adjust, I think I’m doing a better job at that.
Complex: We talked about BP2 already, but what’s your favorite music right now?
Kevin Durant: I’m listening to a lot—every day I listen to new songs. I just started listening to Mac Miller the other day. I like Mac Miller, man. He has a nice little flow to him, you wouldn’t think he flows like that, but he’s nice. I started listening to him. Yelawolf.
Complex: So you’re up on the new-new. Do you search blogs, or do people hook you up with new stuff?
Kevin Durant: I search the blogs and people hook me up on Twitter. I got a artist as well [Privaledge] that I’ve been trying to help out, and he’s been making music and he’s really starting to take off a little bit, too, so I try to listen to as much new music as possible. Mac Miller, Yelawolf, Kendrick Lamar, Big K.R.I.T.—I listen to guys like that.
Complex: Is there ever gonna be an album from you, on some Shaq Diesel? You know you did all right in that Hyperizer ad.
Kevin Durant: Yeah, I did all right. I did decent. I had a little bit of practice before then. But I’m intrigued on how music is made, that’s how I started getting into it. Of course I’ve been in the booth before, just joking around to see how it is, and I’ll make a couple of beats here or there and help my artists out. But other that, I’ll stick to listening.
