kevin durant mvp speech transcript

Kevin Durant gives emotional, tear-filled MVP acceptance speech The Oklahoma City forward took home the 2014 Maurice Podoloff trophy on Tuesday afternoon.

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Kevin Durant met with Golden State Warriors reporters Thursday afternoon for his introductory press conference after officially signing to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder. He recognized that he had an opportunity to focus not on himself, but on others.

The message said, “KD:MVP.”His most touching and powerful remarks were about his mother, a single parent who raised him and his brothers.

First off, it was heartfelt.

Rather than speak in generalities, he mentioned nearly 25 people by name. In May, he was named league MVP for the 2013-14 season. And that’s just what he did. For those of you who are basketball challenged, Durant is the highly regarded forward with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

When he told her, “You’re the real MVP,” the audience stood and applauded.Another positive aspect of the speech was that it sounded less like a speech and more like a conversation. Then play it back and critique it. Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Kevin Durant was officially named the 2013-14 NBA Most Valuable Player on Tuesday. For those of you who are basketball challenged, Durant is the highly regarded forward with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

On the final question of the press conference, Durant did have some fun with a reporter after Durant received 119 of the 125 first-place votes, via There was also a sign on the team's training center that showed just how much Durant means to the city:Although the MVP award recognizes a great regular season, Durant reminded everyone that the Thunder's season is not over yet. Avoid endings that fade or fizzle out – as Durant’s did.Notes give you a road map which keeps you on the straight and narrow.

(Speaking of tears, if you watch the Content is king, and to some extent, Durant nailed it. Judging by his acceptance speech, the award really means a … THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, and welcome to Oracle Arena, the home of the defending World Champion Golden State Warriors. We are here for such a special occasion, I think we did this last year as well, the 2015-2016 Kia MVP Award presentation. For example, he told one of his teammates how much he appreciated the man’s simple gesture of slipping a piece of paper into his locker – well before it was determined who the MVP would be. In accepting his first MVP award, Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant made a point of sharing the honor with those who made it possible.

In short, it was not a highly polished, formal communication written by his agent, but a plain-spoken reflection of his thoughts.Now, the problems with the speech – and some lessons for all of us:Audiences rarely or never say, “I wish that presentation had been a bit longer.” The more you say, the less they remember.

Value brevity.A better opening would have been one of the many emotional stories Durant had about his career, his teammates or his life.Durant should have ended on an emotional note – a story, a statement or a line – something inspirational that tied into his key message (i.e., gratitude). Durant used “language of the living room” – no “fifty dollar words,” along with some incomplete sentences. Crafting a powerful ending is a challenging task, but it’s worth the effort.

In May, he was named league MVP for the 2013-14 season.Given that the speech created nearly as much interest as the accomplishments that led to it, we decided to analyze it – much as we do when we critique our clients’ speeches and presentations in our workshops and coaching sessions.There’s much to like about the speech.

Many of them were in the audience, and he addressed them directly – mentioning something touching or humorous about them. Like most winners of the award, Durant thanked everyone who helped him reach this point.