"Sh*t, I just feel old": Kevin Durant moved by Raptors' Koloko wearing No. 35 jersey in his honour

Even though Kevin Durant no longer wears No. 35, it’s clear that the impact of that number is still felt on the Toronto Raptors.

During the first eleven seasons of his NBA career with the Seattle Supersonics, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Golden State Warriors, Durant’s No. 35 jersey was always among the league’s top sellers.

And for Raptors rookie Christian Koloko, the impact of Durant while growing up in Douala, Cameroon, was clearly felt.

“My idol was always Kevin Durant. He was skinny like me, body type. For his size, he played like a guard at 6’11”, 7′. So it was pretty impressive. That’s why,” Koloko explained back in 2020 while playing at Arizona.

Durant is listed at 6’10”, 240 lbs, while Koloko measures up at 7’1, 230 lbs. In other words, a lot of height, but not a heck of a lot of bulk.

The two faced off for the first time in their career on Friday night, a 109-105 Nets win at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

Koloko reiterated his admiration for Durant during his first press conference with the team, which Durant heard about for the first time last night.

“Every time I hear stuff like that, it’s like, alright, you watched me as you was growing up, I mean, shit, I just feel old,” Durant joked in response to a question asked by Daily Hive. “But I always appreciate stuff like that. You never know who’s watching you when you’re out there doing your thing. You want to inspire and ignite [the passion in] whoever’s watching in some way in some shape or form.”

Kevin Durant was asked about Christian Koloko wearing No. 35 in his honor:

"That just shows that I'm getting old" 😂 pic.twitter.com/GFZwI95TzM

— Nets Videos (@SNYNets) October 22, 2022

Durant dropped 27 points and added 5 rebounds and 6 assists against the Raptors yesterday, while Koloko picked up a lone point, two rebounds and a block in the win.

“It’s always cool, hearing stuff like that and seeing him wear my shoes tonight and [him wearing number] 35,” Durant added.

Durant was involved in trade rumours throughout the summer, including many proposals that involved him making his way towards the Toronto Raptors. Durant reportedly also issued an ultimatum about the Nets either needing to fire head coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks or trading him out of town.

Ultimately, that didn’t come to fruition, but it appears, for now, to be business as usual in Nets country.

“For me it was always like, this is part of the NBA,” Nash said prior to Friday’s game about Durant’s offseason. “This happens all the time, has happened in the past. I never really felt like it was [the end of the world], it was just we just need to sit down at some point. That was it. That’s kind of what happened. You know, I would say our environment been outstanding [so far this season].”

The Raptors are in Miami tonight for a 5 pm PT/ 8 pm ET tipoff. They’ll next take on Durant and the Nets on November 23, when they host Brooklyn at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena. Maybe we’ll get a pre-game hug between Koloko and Durant to really get the fan service going.

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