Kevin Durant ‘Locked In’ Going Into Year Six

Kevin Durant feels different.

It took him five years to get to this point, but now that he’s here he can’t wait to see where it takes him.

As he opens his sixth season with the Thunder’s preseason opener against Houston tonight, Durant says he’s more comfortable, more confident. He’s as relaxed as he’s ever been at the start of a new season and ready to embrace his growing role as the chief leader on an Oklahoma City squad that returns younger than last year.

“I’m just more focused and locked in on what we have to do,” Durant explained. “Me being a leader on this team — most of our veteran guys are gone and we’re adding younger guys — I know what it takes for us to be a good team in this league and I know what I have to do to help this team grow. So I’m just excited around this time.”

That hasn’t always been the case. In fact, the truth is it’s never been.

“The last few years I’ve been nervous coming into the first preseason game,” Durant said. “Just wondering how we’re going to do, how I’m going to do. But I’m more excited this time. I’m just letting it all hang out and having fun, go back to having fun and I’ll be fine.”

The soft-spoken Durant entered this season vowing to become more of a vocal leader.

So far so good.

“It’s been going well,” Durant said. “We have a lot of different personalities on this team, and you’ve got to talk to guys a certain way. I’ve known all these guys for three or four years. It’s just a matter of me speaking up and telling them what I see, and these guys listen. So it’s perfect having a great group of players that listen to each other and want to get better. So it’s making my job easier.”