And even as a throng of admirers surrounded him as he was presented the NBA Rookie of the Year award at host T-Mobile’s headquarters, Durant – wiser than his 19 years – focused on the future.

“I’ve worked hard my whole life, and now it’s starting to pay off,” Durant said. “But I know this is the beginning of things to come – bigger and better things – first for my team and for myself. But I’ve got to continue to work.

“I just want to continue to work hard this summer and next year become a better player to help this team out. I think point-blank all we want to do is win. And if we all come back better players, we can do that.”

Durant finished well ahead of runner-up Al Horford of Atlanta, totaling 90 first-place votes and 545 points overall compared to Horford’s 30 first-place votes and 390 points. Luis Scola finished third with five first-place votes and 146 points overall. Durant was selected by a panel of 125 writers and broadcasters.

“He’s a great teammate,” Seattle general manager Sam Presti said of Durant. “He’s humble, and he’s got a commitment to getting better every day and doesn’t really let things influence him, and in the NBA that’s an easy thing to have happen.

“So we’re very fortunate, and we’re going to build with him.”

Horford called and congratulated Durant on Wednesday after learning Durant had won the award, becoming the first Sonic to win the honor.

However, Horford’s coach, Mike Woodson, wasn’t as graceful, telling a reporter on Wednesday that Horford was snubbed.

“It’s a travesty and it’s not right,” Woodson said before his team’s Game 5 loss to Boston, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “He should have shared it, if not gotten it outright. And I don’t want to hear about us not being on TV or anything like that. It doesn’t matter. It’s what this kid has done for this team.”

Horford put up good numbers as a rookie, averaging 10.1 points and 9.7 rebounds and helped the Hawks return to the NBA playoffs for the first time in nine years.

But Durant dealt with similar comments from critics all season and emerged a better player because of it. Some NBA observers, including former NBA All-Star Charles Barkley, lauded Horford over Durant, saying that Durant was a shining star on a bad team who didn’t rebound enough and took too many bad shots.

Durant quieted his critics by playing his best basketball at the end of the season, averaging 23 points and shooting 49 percent from the field in 24 games from March until the end of the season.

He also knocked down two game-winning shots and showed a willingness to take control of the game in the final minutes.

By winning the award, Durant joins the likes of mentor LeBron James – who also called to congratulate Durant – Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan, Oscar Robertson, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird.

“It’s just me maybe being defensive about it,” Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo said about Durant’s critics. “But I think how special his year was is really not appreciated by people. He made it, if anything, look easy at times.

“He was so much a different player in March and April than earlier in the year. And particularly when you look at him in the fourth quarter, he showed some things other people don’t have. And he’s going to continue to show those things going forward.”

True to his nature, Durant said he already had selected a spot for his shiny new trophy – but it won’t be at home on the mantel.

Durant said he plans to give the award to Seat Pleasant Activity Center in Suitland, Md., where he honed his basketball skills as a gangly adolescent in honor of his godfather and former AAU coach, Taras Brown, who died three years ago on April 30 – the same day Durant found out he had won the award.

“He was my godfather,” Durant said. “He was also a coach on that team, and we were good friends. I just want to give it to him to show how much I worked hard, and just to dedicate my award to my coach who has died.

“I just want to give it to him and put it in the rec center for everybody to see.”

Eric D. Williams: 253-597-8437

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