How Kevin Durant made Suns’ Monty Williams a better coach: ‘He pushed me to push him’

PHOENIX – Suns head coach Monty Williams has a strong relationship with Kevin Durant. Williams was the associate head coach on the Durant-led Oklahoma City Thunder team for the 2015-16 NBA season and was an assistant coach on the Team USA men’s national basketball team from 2013-16. The two have as strong a relationship you can find between a player and a head coach that’s not his own.

So it was no surprise to Williams, now leading the Suns to what he hopes is a second consecutive NBA Finals appearance, that Durant bounced back from the 2019 ruptured Achilles injury that cost him a possible third consecutive NBA championship and his first season with the Brooklyn Nets.

Williams expected greatness from Durant, in the face of the most debilitating injury to befall an NBA player, because the Eastern Conference All-Star captain expects nothing less of himself.

“He’s one of the most diligent workers I’ve ever been around,” said Williams ahead of tipoff against the Nets on Tuesday. “He’s one of the guys that when I coached him he pushed me to push him because of how hard he worked. He was one of the first players ever to get on me as a coach.”

Williams said he would be in a coach’s meeting before the game when Durant’s insatiable hunger for more would come into play.

“He’d have the guys running to the coach’s meeting to get me out of the meeting so we could get to work,” he said. “I’m like, ‘Dude. I’m prepping for a game.’ And he’s just a nut.”

Williams, now, is thankful for the time he spent with Durant in USA basketball, when the two were with each other every day. He said being around the ex-Thunder superstar and 2014 league Most Valuable Player helped influence his coaching now that he’s helping lead stars Chris Paul and Devin Booker on a hungry Phoenix team. His Suns now own the NBA’s best record, and Williams will coach in the upcoming NBA All-Star Game for the first time in his career.

“That was a great lesson-learned teaching moment for me because I got to understand a great, great player, an elite player, what makes them tick and how hard you have to work to be that good and it’s allowed for me to relate to elite players better,” Williams said. “He was probably the guy for me that taught me a lot about how they work, what they concern themselves with and the details that go into being that good.”

Nets head coach Steve Nash shared a similar sentiment. He and Durant grew close while Nash was a player development consultant with the Warriors when the now-Nets star led Golden State to back-to-back championships in 2017 and 2018.

That relationship coupled with Durant’s passion for his craft, Nash said, was why he accepted the head-coaching job with the Nets two summers ago.

“He’s in the second half of his career, and however long he plays, his dedication and passion for the game is what makes him so elite,” Nash said on Tuesday. “Obviously he has gifts and talent, but that incredible passion and dedication, attention to detail is what makes him great. Having that history with him, wanting to come here and help and be a part of his success is a motivating factor for me (coming to the Nets) as well.”

Durant’s pre- and post-Achilles form will be a debate for the rest of time. Before suffering an MCL sprain that will keep him out until after the Feb. 20 NBA All-Star break, Durant averaged what remains a league-leading 29.3 points per game on 52% shooting from the field, 37% shooting from three and 89.4% shooting from downtown.

His game is highlighted by his high-level scoring efficiency, but that’s hardly the extent of his impact on the floor: He’s showcased his abilities as a decisive facilitator (5.8 assists per game), one of the league’s most versatile defenders (averaging just under one steal and one block per game), and most importantly, one of the best leaders in all of basketball.

Williams has watched his game up close, and now he watches it from afar. What aspect of Durant’s repertoire has the biggest impact on a game?

“Checking in,” the Suns coach deadpanned. “When he steps in the game, there it is.”