Durant: I wanted to play for the Raptors

Despite growing up in Washington, D.C., NBA superstar Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder wanted to play for the Toronto Raptors.

On Thursday, during an interview on The Dan Patrick Show, Durant said: “Believe it or not, I wanted to play for the Toronto Raptors, that was my favorite team.”

Durant cited that one of the main reasons he grew up cheering for the Raptors was because of the Raptors’ jerseys and the fact they were new to the league.

“They were a new team when I was growing up, so I wanted to be a part of that,” Durant said.

Another reason Durant cheered for the Raptors was because he was a big fan of Vince Carter, Toronto’s former franchise player.

“His enthusiasm he showed, just his athleticism, and how he brought Toronto from being one of the newer teams in the league to almost going to the finals. He changed the culture there in Toronto.”

Durant was drafted second overall in the 2007 NBA Draft, one spot behind Greg Oden, who was selected first by the Portland Trail Blazers.

Toronto did not draft a player in 2007 after trading away their picks in various moves, but when Raptors fans caught wind of what Durant had to say, the thoughts of what could have been flooded in.

Durant was named NBA Rookie of the Year in 2008, is a three-time NBA all-star and three-time NBA scoring champion. He led his Thunder to an appearance in the NBA Finals last season and his team currently sits in first place in the league with a 31-8 record.

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