When Kevin Durant was just an infant, and his brother Anthony was just a toddler, their father abandoned the family and left Wanda as a single mother at 21
Star player in the sport of basketball In spite of Kevin Durant’s two MVP awards from the NBA Finals (in 2014 and 2017), he insists that his mother, Wanda Durant, is “the real MVP.”
Kevin and Anthony’s father left them when they were infants, leaving their mother Wanda a single parent at the age of 21.
It seemed like the deck was stacked against us. Kevin, in his 2014 MVP victory speech, remarked, “By the time you were 21, you were a single parent with two boys.” “We shouldn’t have been here. You convinced us. You provided for us so that we wouldn’t have to sleep in our cars and eat off of cans. You fed the rest of us while you weren’t hungry. You probably went to bed starving. You gave up a lot for us. You’ve got to be the most valuable player in the league.
Wanda believes her sons were motivated to work hard to accomplish their goals since she worked hard to get them. “I continued to give them my love, my time, my presence, and being as engaged as I possibly could,” she said to NBA.com. “After reviewing my life, I realized that holding on to hope and perseverance allowed my sons to follow in my footsteps and achieve their goals.”
She has been Kevin’s biggest supporter on and off the court, and she is now a philanthropist and motivational speaker dedicated to improving the lives of those in marginalized regions.
And who exactly is Wanda Durant? Keep reading to find out about her incredible life story, her generous giving, and the vital work she conducts now.
She gives speeches to inspire others.A major tenet of Wanda’s philosophy is that “where there is hope, there is possibility,” as she writes on her website, MamaDurant.com. Her biography states, “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 addressed audiences at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conference, as well as the United State of Wоmen Summit at the White House and the Ford Foundation.
Together with her husband, she manages the Durant Family Foundation.The organization’s goal is “to enrich the lives of at-rιsk youth from low-income backgrounds through educational, athletic, and social programs.”
The Durants, however, find a number of the group’s initiatives to be personally meaningful. Kevin’s hometown of Bowie, Maryland is located in Prince George’s County, therefore in 2022, the foundation gave $500,000 to renovate the university’s basketball courts there.
The place that I call ‘home’ We have a strong connection to the people and places of PG County and Bowie State University. All the stars were lined for this to happen, and the fact that it was the first HBCU in Maryland and Kevin played there made it so.
Wanda is active with the Single Parents Support Network, Baller Moms, the Boys & Girls Club of America, and the Mothers of Professional Basketball Players, in addition to the charity she founded with her family. She also serves as a board member for Tigress Financial Partners, an organization that promotes financial awareness among females.
She is Kevin’s number one supporter in and out of the game.Mama Durant is vocal about her love for her kid in interviews and on television.
She declared to Essence in 2022, “I’m Kevin’s biggest fan.” That’s it; he’ll always be Kevin. I get that as a professional athlete, there will be fans and detractors on both sides of the aisle. It doesn’t change the fact that I’m still his mom. It’s irrelevant what other people think. As a person, he’s quite pleasing to me.
During Kevin’s recovery from his injuries, she has been the rallying point for his supporters.
During the 2018–19 season, Durant endured a series of challenging injuries, including a calf ιnjury and an Achilles tendon rupture, which forced him to miss Game 5 of the NBA Finals. Wanda expressed her gratitude to her global fanbase in an interview with Good Morning America, saying, “I’m 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, sent general responses.” Therefore, “we appreciate it immensely.”The silver screen has praised her.The Real MVP: The Wanda Durant Story, a film about Wanda’s life, premiered on Lifetime in 2016. The story concentrated on a family’s efforts to motivate and encourage their two sons to thrive despite their harsh living conditions. Pauletta Washingtоn starred in the film that Queen Latifah produced.
She has no problem publicly supporting her son’s professional choices.Wanda has always defended Kevin whenever he has been criticized during his basketball career. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith publicly stated that Kevin may have harmed his legacy by joining the Brooklyn Nets in 2022, as the team’s success on the court has been overshadowed by player Kyrie Irving’s controversial actions, as reported by Bleacher Report.
On Twitter, Wanda retaliated by asking Smith, “when will you show up better?”In public response, Smith said, “I love the NBA moms and they all know that. She’s one of the most special people I’ve ever encountered in the NBA.” You are free to sаy anything you want to me, whether it be in person, on Twitter, or otherwise. Since that is how I truly feel about you, you can expect nothing less than my best deference and respect. So, what she said didn’t bother me at all. She is advocating for her child and she is within her rights to do so.
Graves’ diseаse and thyroid eye diseаse are causes she’s passionate about.Despite having been diagnosed with Graves diseаse, a thyroid ailment, 17 years ago, Wanda had a difficult time receiving a diagnosis of thyroid eye diseаse (TED), a related issue.
"Had I been aware of the risks associated with TED earlier, I would have taken more diligent care of my eyes and consulted a TED Eye Specialist," Wanda shared with Ebony in 2022. "That's why I'm dedicated to preventing others from making the same mistake I did and enduring prolonged blindness due to it."
