Wanda Durant, Kevin Durant's mother, opens up about sacrifice
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Kevin Durant was a slam dunk for MVP in the NBA playoffs. He averaged 35 points a game as the Golden State Warriors clobbered the Cleveland Cavaliers. But there were really two MVPs.
Monday night was about more than winning. For Kevin Durant, it was the fulfillment of a promise he made to his mom when he was just 8 years old.
"I can remember that conversation on my sofa, the look in his eyes," Wanda Durant said.
"Is that why you kept pushing him so hard?" CBS News asked.
"Because I knew he wanted it," Wanda Durant responded.
Wanda Durant had her son at just 21. As a young single mom, she worked the overnight shift at a post office outside Washington, D.C., struggling to provide for him and his older brother, Tony Durant.
"There were many nights that I didn't know how we were going to make it," said Wanda Durant.
"Where did you find that strength, though?" CBS News asked.
"I couldn't quit, and there were times I wanted to quit, and I often said the sacrifice for me was not dying, that's what I sacrificed for my kids, not checking out on them," Wanda Durant said.
There aren't usually words for that kind of sacrifice, but Kevin Durant found just the right ones, when he gave his mom a tearful shoutout in his acceptance speech for the NBA's Most Valuable Player Award three years ago.
"When you didn't eat, you made sure we ate. You went to sleep hungry. You sacrificed for us. You the real MVP," Kevin Durant said.
Even for an NBA champion, being a momma's boy couldn't feel any better.
"How do you top last night?" CBS News asked.
"With another championship," Wanda Durant said with a laugh.