The entire sequence didn’t last 30 seconds.
After dropping 30 points in 37 minutes in a Houston Rockets win at Capital One Arena on March 2nd, Kevin Durant was stopped midcourt by a young Washington Wizards player who had a question.
The exchange was brief, but it didn’t feel small to Kyshawn George, who spent much of his time watching Durant play basketball while he was growing up.
“I’m working on particular parts of my game that he’s pretty much mastered over his career,” George told The Athletic. “There’s no better way than to learn from the best. So I just went and asked him a couple questions and he was cool enough to answer.”
For the love of basketball 🙌
After playing 37 minutes and dropping 30 points in the @HoustonRockets win, KD hung around to coach up Washington’s youngster Kyshawn George. pic.twitter.com/sLgs5sue2m
— NBA (@NBA) March 3, 2026
Like so many young hoopers, George studied the 37-year-old future Hall of Famer from afar. The 22-year-old swingman for the rebuilding Wizards, who grew up in Switzerland, played pro (just wanted you to see this change — pro instead of high school) ball in France and went to college in Miami, recalls replaying highlights of Durant and trying to emulate his game. One of his favorite moments was when Durant drilled a game-winning 3 at the buzzer to beat the Dallas Mavericks at the beginning of the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season.
Before injuring his elbow in that March game against the Rockets, George was in the midst of a breakout season, averaging 14.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. He hasn’t played since due to a partial ligament tear and the Wizards announced Thursday that George will miss the rest of the season. The team said he “is expected to make a full recovery ahead of the 2026-27 season.”
George scored 16 points in 22 minutes that night, but it was the quick exchange with Durant that left a memorable impact. It offered a glimpse into just how much one of George’s childhood idols still loves the game.
“The sport is fun, for one,” Durant told The Athletic. “I enjoy the details, the process of the sport. I want to see other players get everything I got out of the game. On and off the court.”
Durant, now in his 18th NBA season, doesn’t go out of his way to mentor everyone, but he makes himself available to anyone who has a question about the game and his journey. After all his highs and lows in basketball, Durant knows that he has a wealth of knowledge to share from his experience and appreciates the curiosity from players who are just trying to get better.
“If somebody has a question, needs some advice, and seeks it out, then I’m gonna give it to him as honest as I can,” Durant said. “I want players to reach their full potential. And I want them to get everything on and off the court cause there’s a lot that comes with this lifestyle if you do it right.”
It’s a love that is clear for his peers — from rookies to veterans — to see. On the night that George asked Durant his questions, the young man with the curiousity and the confidence to ask for advice about a move he was working on, got the wisdom he was seeking from one of his childhood heroes.
“It shows that he really truly loves the game,” George said. “And it’s more than just being individually better than the other guy … but I just think it was cool and good from his part to give a little tip to somebody that’s trying to get better.”
George said most of his friends didn’t hit him up after the exchange. It was mainly just his friends from back home in Switzerland who dropped the video in their group chat and asked him about it.
“I just told them it was a simple conversation,” George said. “I asked the question, he answered, I said thank you, and have a good night.”
George didn’t make plans to work out with Durant, but he didn’t need to. The value was in Durant’s answer — and what he took from it.
“Just his consistency,” George said. “He doesn’t waste any effort when he plays. I think that’s something that’s really commendable. You can get caught up in taking 20 dribbles before you take a shot, but if you look at him, he’s damn near 50/40/90 every single season so it’s something that I really look up to — to like to be super efficient on the court.”
That’s exactly what Durant wants to be for a generation of players who patterned their games after him growing up. He’s like the uncle who’s there if you ever need him.
George hasn’t played in a game since the night he asked Durant his question in early March, but the lesson landed. Not in a private workout or a long conversation — but a quick exchange that reinforced the standard George has been chasing since he watched Durant from the other side of the world: greatness.