ESPN

Two days before the NBA Draft, two days before becoming a multi-millionaire, two days before the biggest day in his 18 year-old life, Kevin Durant sat in a Manhattan BBQ joint and played video games.

Man on the Verge
In the weeks leading up to the 2007 NBA Draft, Kevin Durant was thrown into the spotlight amid a whirlwind of media opportunities, interviews, parties and events. Gallery

EA SPORTS rented out the spot to let Kevin and the media test-drive an early version of its popular pro basketball title, NBA Live 08. With his own virtual likeness already installed into the game (in a Sonics and Blazers jersey, just to be safe), the young phenom was taking full advantage of the instant replay feature to review his monster slam on Zach Randolph's head from about eight different angles. "Oooh!" yelled Kevin, pointing at his character, who was frozen in mid-air with his right arm stretched out, ready to drop the hammer on big Zach. "Let's see that again from the side."

Virtual poster-ization never gets old, does it?

But Kevin was there to show off more than his skills with the joystick. Ripping a thin red sheet off a tall easel in the middle of the room, Kevin revealed an enlarged picture of himself sporting an orange Texas Longhorns jersey, aggressively tearing down a rebound, with the words NCAA March Madness 08 positioned over his torso.

Translation: Kevin Durant is now officially an EA SPORTS cover boy.

And a young one at that. In fact, Kevin became the second youngest cover athlete in EA's history, trailing only Freddy Adu, who graced the cover of FIFA Soccer in 2006 as a 16 year old.

"It feels great," Kevin claimed, staring at the enlarged cover with a grin on his face. "It's like a dream come true."

After a lengthy Q&A from the attending media, Kevin eagerly shuffled his way back over to the Xbox 360, where his paused game was waiting patiently for him. But before he could become fully entrenched in the virtual world, I snuck in a question of my own.

"So what's your favorite video game?" I asked quickly.

"NBA Live 2001," Kevin answered. And then, as if to prove his credibility, he continued, "KG was on the cover. I was just playing the other day actually, I put up 94 points with him."

I was confused. After all, everyone's favorite NBA Live game is '95 right? Or, if you go old-school, like Dr. J vs Larry Bird or even Lakers vs. Celtics, I'd understand that too. But Live 01? I had to investigate.

"Live 01, huh? What about a classic, like Double Dribble?" I inquired, with sincere curiosity.

"Double Dribble?" Kevin replied, keeping his concentration on the HD television screen in front of him. "Never heard of it."

Huh? Really? As I was collecting my jaw off the floor, an EA producer to my left leaned in and reminded me, "Double Dribble was made in '87. Kevin Durant was made in '88."

Touché.

What followed was mixed emotion. While I felt sorry for him in that he had never experienced the sweetness that was Double Dribble, I personally felt a bit outdated.

It occurred to me that this must be how my boss feels when attempting to share memories of the Intellevision and Atari 2600 glory days. After realizing I can't share in his memory, he'll normally mumble something about me being young or him being old. For his sake, I'm going to fake recollection here on out. "Oh yea, Boss, I grew up playing Intellivision Hockey ..."

As Kevin's game came to a wrap, I noticed the virtual Durant had about 20 points, which was nothing in comparison to the recent 94 he claimed to have with KG. Was Kevin all talk? Even I could put up 20 ... with Brian Scalabrine ... in one quarter. Ok, maybe two.

"What's up with that?" I asked. "That's an off-night in real life for you, much less a video game."

Kevin's father, Wayne, who also happened to be his opponent in this intense virtual battle, turned to me and answered defensively for his son, "Well, he's got 31 assists!"

Reminder: Never bet against a kid who once dropped 37 on Bobby Knight's defense. Real life or video games, I'm convinced he knows something about competition that the rest of us don't.

Back to 31 assists ... Was I experiencing a virtual unselfishness that had never been seen before? This was, after all, the same guy who told me he once used a controller to put up 150 points with Vince Carter, and the aforementioned 94 with Kevin Garnett. This kid is as unpredictable as a full court shot in NBA Jam. (Let's be real, they went in a lot more often than they should have.)

Regardless, I was impressed. I turned to Brent Nielsen, senior producer of the NBA Live series, and said, "Kevin's pretty good at this, no?"

Brent nodded and admitted, "He beat me earlier."

Let's discuss the significance of this statement. Beating the person that created the game isn't like beating your old and fragile high school coach in 1-on-1, as he swears once upon a time he would have "dropped you like a bad habit." Last I checked, video games require little physical stamina or athletic prowess. It certainly doesn't require the ability to rep 185 lbs on the bench press. It's pure, non-discriminating skill, granted you can see the screen and hold a controller. So when you beat the guy that MADE THE GAME, your hat size instantly increases a minimum of three inches.

EA's director of athlete relations, Sandy Sandoval, confirmed, "He's perfect for the cover. He's the consensus player of the year, he's a top 2 draft pick, he's a great kid, and he's a huge gamer! And gamers can relate to that. He really brings credibility."

So when you go out to buy a copy of NCAA March Madness 08 (the game ships in October), remember: not only would that guy on the cover annihilate you on the basketball court, where he spends hours and hours tirelessly perfecting his jumper and tuning up his ball-handling, but he could also dominate you while sitting on your couch, where you spend hours and hours tirelessly mashing buttons and chugging Stacker 2s.

Either way, you'll get to experience the awesomeness of a Kevin Durant poster-ization. At least in the video game, Kevin will be kind enough to show it to you from eight different angles.