Kevin Durant stars at Goodman League, sets Oct. 1 deadline for potential overseas decision

When he walked into the sweltering high school gym in Northeast Washington on Saturday, Kevin Durant was wearing a plain white T-shirt, basketball shorts, flip-flops and his trademark backpack strapped on his shoulders. Fans inside didn’t swarm him or swoon as the two-time NBA all-star quietly breezed across the court to shake hands and then crack some jokes with Jeff Green, the former Georgetown star and Durant’s former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate.

“I just want to hoop,” Durant said Saturday. “I do it for everybody back here that really don’t get a chance to see me that much. I just want to break the barrier. A lot of NBA players don’t do it as often as I do it now, before. Guys may come, play one or two games, but I play all summer, so I just want to break the barrier, show them that I’m regular.”

Durant has been playing with the Goodman League since he was an even scrawnier 16-year-old, hoping to earn a reputation. But even after establishing himself as a superstar, signing an $85-million extension, leading the United States to a gold medal in the FIBA world championship in Istanbul last September, and playing pickup basketball with President Obama, Durant continues to come back home and play pickup games on the blacktop at Barry Farm or Harlem’s renowned Rucker Park or the hardwood at Spingarn or the Drew League in Compton, Calif.

“It feels good to go into different hoods and show them my game,” he said. “People respect it.”

Durant said that after speaking with Stephen Jackson and a few other players last week, he has decided to set a deadline of Oct. 1. “Once we really know the season is not going to start at regular time, that’s when you make the decision,” he said. “I guess when October hits, it’s really going to get real for me. I don’t want to do it too early and be locked into something, knowing we’re going to play. I’m going to keep my options open.”

When asked if Turkey was his first option, Durant said, “My agent is talking with those guys, but I really don’t know too much about what’s going on. He’s going to call the next few days, keep me in [the loop]. Right now, I’m just trying to get better hooping and we’ll see what happens.”