When Kevin Durant was still a baby and his brother Anthony was still a toddler their father deserted the family leaving Wanda who was just 21 years old at the time to raise both of them by herself
Basketballs leading performer in a key position Wanda Durant Kevins mother is according to her son the real MVP This is despite the fact that Kevin Durant has won the Most Valuable Player award at the NBA Finals twice in 2014 and 2017
Their mother Wanda became a single parent at the age of 21 after their father abandoned the family when Kevin and Anthony were still young children
It appeared that the odds were piled heavily against us During his acceptance speech for the Most Valuable Player award in 2014 Kevin noted By the time you were 21 you were a single parent with two boys We had no business being here in the first place You successfully persuaded us You made it possible for us to avoid having to sleep in our vehicles and eat out of cans by providing for us You provided food for the rest of us despite the fact that you were not hungry You most likely fell asleep with an empty stomach You sacrificed a lot for the both of us You have to be the player with the highest overall value in the league
Wanda is convinced that the fact that she achieved her goals via arduous labor inspired her sons to put in the effort required to be successful I continued to give them my love my time my presence and being as engaged as I possibly could she stated in an interview with NBAcom As I reflected on my life I came to the conclusion that my sons were able to realize their ambitions and follow in my footsteps because I never gave up hope and never gave up on them
She has been Kevins most ardent supporter both on and off the court and she is currently pursuing a career as a philanthropist and motivational speaker with the goal of making peoples lives better in underprivileged areas
Who precisely is this Wanda Durant anyway Continue reading to learn more about her extraordinary life story her many acts of generosity and the important work she is doing at the present time
She regularly gives speeches in an effort to motivate othersAccording to what is written on Wandas website MamaDurantcom one of the most important tenets of her philosophy is the idea that where there is hope there is possibility In her biography it is written that Her passion is to inspire underserved children single mothers and communities to move beyond their immediate circumstances and aim for higher heights in life
She has delivered speeches to audiences at the United State of Women Summit at the White House as well as the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conference and the Ford Foundation
She shares management responsibilities for the Durant Family Foundation with her husbandThe mission of the organization is to enrich the lives of atrisk youth from lowincome backgrounds through educational athletic and social programs and its name reflects this mission
The Durants on the other hand feel that a number of the groups endeavors have personally relevant implications for them Due to the fact that Kevins hometown of Bowie Maryland is situated in Prince Georges County the foundation provided the local institution with a gift of 500000 in 2022 so that it may modernize its basketball facilities
The location that I refer to as home We have a deep connection to the residents of PG County as well as the locations in and around Bowie State University It was the first historically black college or university HBCU in Maryland and Kevin played basketball there so everything fell into place perfectly for this to take place
In addition to the charitable organization that she and her family established Wanda is involved with other organizations such as the Single Parents Support Network Baller Moms the Boys Girls Club of America and the Mothers of Professional Basketball Players Additionally she is a member of the board of directors for Tigress Financial Partners which is an organization that works to raise womens knowledge of financial matters
Both on the field and off she is Kevins most ardent cheerleader and supporterIn interviews and on television Mama Durant has been very open about how much she adores her child
In 2022 she claimed in an interview with Essence that Im Kevins biggest fan That settles it well just call him Kevin from now on As an athlete competing at a professional level I am aware that there will be supporters and critics on both sides of the arena The fact that I am still his mother is not going to change regardless of what happens It makes no difference what other people think about it As a human being I find him to be quite agreeable
She has served as the focal point for Kevins cheerleaders and wellwishers throughout his rehabilitation from his injuries
Durant was out for Game 5 of the NBA Finals due to a string of difficult injuries that he suffered during the 201819 season These ailments included a calf injury and an Achilles tendon rupture both of which caused him to miss the game During an interview with Good Morning America Wanda expressed her thanks to her global fandom saying Im just so grateful and our family is thankful to the fans all over the world who have sent us their prayers who have contacted me over my social media and who have sent general responses Because of this we appreciate it immenselyShe has garnered praise from the film industryIn 2016 Lifetime broadcast the first episode of The Real MVP The Wanda Durant Story a biopic film about Wandas life The plot of the narrative centered on a familys attempts to inspire and encourage their two sons to grow despite the difficult living conditions that they were forced to endure The movie that Queen Latifah produced featured Pauletta Washington in the leading role
She has no trouble whatsoever voicing her approval of her sons chosen career path in publicThroughout his time as a basketball player Wanda has never failed to come to Kevins defense whenever he has been subjected to criticism According to Bleacher Report ESPNs Stephen A Smith made a public statement that Kevin may have damaged his legacy by signing with the Brooklyn Nets in 2022 as the teams success on the court has been overshadowed by player Kyrie Irvings controversial behavior Smiths comments were made in reference to the fact that the teams success on the court has been eclipsed by Irvings actions
Wanda hit back against Smith on Twitter asking him when will you show up betterSmith responded publicly to the criticism by saying I love the NBA moms and they all know that She is one of the most remarkable persons Ive ever met in the National Basketball Association You are welcome to say whatever you like to me regardless of whether it is in person on Twitter or in any other setting Given that this is how I genuinely feel about you you should expect nothing less than my highest level of deference and respect from me Therefore what she said did not in any way bother me It is perfectly acceptable for her to speak out for her child in this manner because she is the parent
She is very committed to bringing awareness to Graves disease as well as thyroid eye diseaseWanda had a tough time acquiring a diagnosis of thyroid eye disease TED a related illness despite the fact that she had been given a diagnosis of Graves disease a condition that affects the thyroid seventeen years ago
In the year 2022 Wanda shared with Ebony her regrets saying Had I known about the risk of TED sooner I would have been more carefully monitoring my eyes and seeing a TED Eye Specialist Because of this I have made it the mission of my life to deter other people from making the same mistake I did and allowing it to cloud their judgment for as long as it did
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