By admin 
PJ Tucker had plenty of battles with Kevin Durant in the NBA. But even before they made it to the pros, Tucker had already recognized that Durant was a legend in the making.
Read more “Absolutely, it’s sickening” – A’ja Wilson admits that pettiness fuels her game
Both played at the University of Texas at Austin, although they were never teammates. Durant came in for his one-and-done collegiate season with the Longhorns in 2006, the year that Tucker moved up to the NBA as a second-round pick by the Toronto Raptors.
KD had a stellar campaign at Texas, becoming the national college player of the year and Big 12 player of the year, and a consensus first-team All-American in 2007 after averaging 25.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, and 1.9 steals while shooting 40.4 percent from three-point range. He also helped the Longhorns reach the second-round of the NCAA Tournament.
Impressed with KD right away
Tucker, who played with fellow future NBA stars LaMarcus Aldridge and Daniel Gibson while at Texas, got the chance to play against Durant as a highly recruited high school star and was immediately impressed by what he saw.
It happened in a pickup game right before Durant joined Texas, where KD torched them with his scoring prowess.
Tucker recalled his first meeting with Durant on the “Uninterrupted” podcast, describing it as the most unreal thing he had ever seen.
“So everybody’s there. Everybody’s in the gym. We didn’t hear about this high school kid. He’s all this and that. We haven’t seen it. Like it’s before the Internet… I see him walk in. He was skinny… These rookies, you ain’t even think, like, he’s number one. We were the number one team in the country. We don’t rank high school,” Tucker
“So, I got him. First play, bro, we jump, I swear I’m waiting, like, NBA three-point line, he pulled up from so deep. I was like, he shoots this [far] first bucket? I turned and looked at [Texas head coach] Rick Barnes. He smiled. Looked at me, looked over his shoulder… I said, ‘Oh my, bro.’ He dogged the f–k out of us, bro. They beat us three games in a row,” he added.
The impressive one-and-done year for Durant at Texas led to his selection second overall in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics, which later became the Oklahoma City Thunder. He was picked behind big man Greg Oden out of Ohio State, who went to the Portland Trail Blazers.
In the NBA, Durant has done it all. He is a two-time NBA champion and Finals Most Valuable Player, one-time league MVP, 16-time All-Star, and four-time scoring champion. The 37-year-old superstar forward is looking to continue building on his legacy as he plays in his 19th year in the NBA next season.
Related: Thaddeus Young on why the 1988 All-NBA First Team is the greatest ever: “I’m glad I wasn’t in the NBA”
NBA battles
After his initial encounter with KD in college, Tucker saw a lot of Durant in the NBA, especially in the Western Conference. As a member of the Houston Rockets in the late 2010s, Tucker was frequently assigned to guard Durant, who was then playing for the Golden State Warriors.
The two also engaged in an intense on-court face-off on the East Coast when Tucker played for the Milwaukee Bucks during their 2021 championship run and they had to face Durant and the Brooklyn Nets along the way.
Despite their fiery encounters, the Texas alumni were respectful to one another and maintained their friendship.
“I got the utmost respect for Kevin. I take pride in it. This is something I want to do. I can’t wait to guard Kevin Durant… It sounds crazy, but this is my dream. I’m living my dream right now guarding Kevin Durant in the NBA playoffs,” Tucker said of his encounters with KD.
Durant has long been viewed as a true baller destined for greatness and stories like that of Tucker’s and others only serve to give it further credence.
Related: PJ Tucker says LeBron James is about to make the same sacrifice Chris Paul made in Houston
Read more ‘Not Part of the Plans’-The Wonderkid Fighting for His Chelsea Future
Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published September 9, 2026 at 5:36 AM.