On the court, Kevin Durant is the man. Durant, the Oklahoma City Thunder star, had himself a tough outing Saturday, saw his night against the Dallas Mavericks end early after he earned a flargant-2 and the first ejection of his NBA career with 50.6 seconds left in the game. But Durant, averaging 26 points and seven boards through his first three games of the 2016 NBA Playoffs, is still the player through which all of the Thunder's success funnels. He's a quiet leader, the guy who, along with Russell Westbrook, has fronted a basketball revival in OKC, pushed the Thunder out to a 3-1 series lead over the Mavs.
But off the court Durant is all about support, especially when it comes to his mom. Growing up in a rough area of Washington, D.C., Durant watched as others failed to make it out, due largely to a lacking support system of disillusioned faculty, disinterested coaches and oftentimes absentee family.
But not the Durants.
Durant's mom, Wanda Pratt, made sure that every day her boys, Kevin and Tony, did what they needed to do to, took care of their schooling and their chores, maintained focus on and off the court and, eventually, made it out of the old neighborhood.
Now a seven-time All-Star, former NBA Rookie of the Year and 2014 NBA MVP, Durant's life these days is much different than it used to be back in D.C. And he knows very well who he has to thank for that - "the Real MVP," his mom, Wanda.
"Being there for me, supporting me, and just giving me words of encouragement every single day," Durant told Headlines and Global News of his mom's influence on him.
Now, Pratt, affectionately known as Mama Durant, will finally be getting her turn in the spotlight as the titular star of an upcoming Lifetime biopic chronicling her struggles as a single mother raising Durant and his brother, titled "The Real MVP: The Wandra Durant Story."
Durant, making the media rounds to promote his mom's new venture, was effusive in his praise of Mama Durant's work raising himself and Tony - even if he didn't understand the neccesity, the gravity of her tough-as-nails approach at the time.
"Being tough on me, holding me up to a standard to which I had to be consistent with every single day," Durant said. "It was tough going through it, but now that I think about it, it was much-needed."
Much-needed indeed - Durant, staring NBA free agency in the face for the first time in his career, while simultaneously working to push the Thunder deep into the playoffs this season, starred collegiately at Texas before landing with the Seattle Super Sonics in the first round of the 2007 NBA Draft.
His immediate success both with the Longhorns and once he joined OKC in 2008-09 is, he believes, a direct reflection of his mom's influence. But Pratt's imprint on Durant goes well beyond his game - it's in the way he carries himself, his quiet confidence, the work he does with the Kevin Durant Charity Foundation.
"He was reserved," Pratt said with a laugh of a younger Durant. "Very quiet. Observant. Not very pushy or loud or boisterous - just like he is now."
Durant can be emotional, though, at times letting his feelings exist prominently on his sleeve. It was on full display during his moving 2014 NBA MVP acceptance speech.
"Of course I knew that he would mention me in his speech, but I didn't think that it would be to that magnitude," Pratt said. "And it was really emotional for me because some of the things he mentioned, I didn't realize that he remembered. And so I was just grateful that he understood some of the sacrifices that were made to help get him to the point that he was on the stage to receive the MVP award."
Another sign of Pratt's good work - during the video, Durant mentions the desire to become a rec league coach. It was the very first way he could think of, even as a young man, to continue giving back, to continue supporting.
"That's all I saw in the old neighborhood," Durant said. "Nobody ever made it out to do what they wanted to do, so I just knew that was the best opportunity for me to stay in the game and coach."
But Pratt, as supportive as she was tough, knew her son could reach higher, maybe even the highest, heights if he worked hard enough, if he really wanted to.
"My mom always told me I could be an NBA player, and I believed it," Durant said. "Each and every day it started to be more and more believable to me, and now here I am."
For Durant, that rough-and-tumble upbringing was normal - "It felt like that's how life is supposed to be" - and he's certainly not the first and won't be the last young man, growing up in a bad neighborhood without a father in the home to help and provide guidance, to think that.
It's something that Durant hopes he can continue to change, little by little, through his charitable efforts, and his support of his mom's new movie.
"This is about my mom and her journey and about helping other single moms, to give them hope," he said.
Pratt, who will soon begin writing a book and plans to start her own non-profit geared towards teenage pregnancy, single parenthood and women's issues, echoed that hopeful sentiment.
"The beautiful part of my story is that it's a very common story and it resonates with so many," Pratt said. "And so that's the hope for the movie, that it will bring inspiration through the tough times that you can continue on, and fight on, and you and your family will be successful."
And in true Mama Durant fashion, the woman who pushed an NBA superstar to reach the highest heights within himself, but who even now, through all the successes, the accolades, remains incredibly grounded, wants nothing more than to see her boys, her family, remain close.
"As long as we remain close and remain a family, that's all that's important," Pratt said. "The success will always come. As long as you work hard the success will always be there."
"The Real MVP: The Wandra Durant Story," is set to premiere on Lifetime on May 7, 2016.
