What We Learned
We learned that Waiters is a more-than-willing teammate, and a beyond-capable closer.
Much like that of teammate James Johnson, it is rare when you see a player have this type of resurgence after several years of putting up middle-of-the-pack numbers.
It’s not every day that you see a player increase his scoring average by six points per game, either.
As Waiters so eloquently stated in his piece for The Players’ Tribune, ” They say, ‘He never seen a shot he don’t like. He’s got irrational confidence. He thinks he’s the best player in the NBA.’ Hell yeah I do.”
Above anything else, if there is one thing we’ve learned about this man after getting to know him well over the course of the past six months, it is this: There’s no knocking his confidence. None.
Ever hear of the countless times Waiters went 1-on-1 with Durant at Thunder practice? Neither have I, but Waiters remembers their behind-the-scenes duels vividly:
"“When I got to OKC, me and K.D. were together every day. Kev used to think it was funny, because when we got in the gym and played 1-on-1, I was trying to kill him. Straight up,” Waiters said. “Go ahead and ask him who won our last game. Ask him. He’ll tell you. He won a lot, too. But I got him plenty.”"
Not bad, not bad at all.
While Durant has never been quoted discussing this specifically, he uttered nothing but praise for his former teammate following their last showdown in South Beach:
“He gave me a little wink after he hit that three,” Durant said, chuckling. “F****g sucked to see that go through the rim, but that’s a big brother to me kind of. can smile at that one after the game was over. He played great.”
Just how close were the two while playing for the Thunder? Durant reiterated Waiters’s claims once more.
“As soon as he got to OKC, I was the first one to kind of greet him,” he said. “I wrapped my arm around him early. So we had a nice bond. Every road trip we were together. We had a nice bond. Big brother, little brother relationship, man.”
While Waiters’s references are impressive, the tale of the tape proved the story this year, and he has a bright future (and massive pay-day) ahead.