He opened up against the Denver Nuggets with an 18-point effort on 7-22 shooting.  24 hours later, he dropped 27 points on the Phoenix Suns.  This weekend in Los Angeles Durant played his best all-around game, tallying 24 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists against the Clippers.

Despite his impressive start, the rookie has nothing but three checks in the loss column to show for all of his hard work.

Welcome to the NBA, kid.

"I knew it was going to be a challenge," Durant said Sunday in Los Angeles.  "Everything's not going to be easy.  That's what I told myself.

"Everybody's quicker, stronger, and faster up here.  So that's what I've got to get used to.  I'm working hard everyday in practice and in the weight room to build up my strength and quickness.  Hopefully one of these days I'll be on par with those guys."

Durant's game is already on par with most of the league, but this kid wants his game to be on par with the best to have ever donned an NBA jersey.  In order for him to accomplish this, though, he's going to have to get stronger.

"I came in (to the University of Texas) weighing 195," the 19-year-old explained.  "During that summer I gained about 15 or 20 pounds.  I think I did a good job of keeping it on.  I ate well, worked out, and just exercised."

Durant said he currently weighs about 220 pounds.  The Sonics would love to see his body mature into a solid 235 or 240 pounds.  While weight might be an issue for Durant early in his career, length is certainly not.  Combine that length with his natural stroke and shooting range, and you've got a player that's already giving NBA coaches headaches.

"First of all, the guy's like 7-feet tall, and he's got three-point plus range," Clippers head coach Mike Dunleavy said on Sunday.  "And he's got a quick trigger.  You've got to get into him.

"He didn't look like he was fazed at all.  Obviously, he's going to get a lot of minutes.  He's been their number one option on many plays most of their nights and you see why.  Not only does he have the stroke, but what I like about his game that I never really knew -- because in college he played a little bit bigger and he was a rebounder and a scorer -- is his ability to make plays.  He made some terrific passes.  Off the dribble he pulled up and didn't take it all the way into the defense.  He showed a lot of savvy out there for a rookie.  I was really impressed."

Clippers' veteran point guard Brevin Knight, who has seen his fair share of dynamic players during his decade in the league, agreed with Dunleavy's assessment.

"He's going to be very good with his length and the way he gets away from defenders.  If he can stroke that shot the way he did (Sunday in Los Angeles), he's going to be very tough to stop as long as he is.  But I think he has a great future ahead of him as long as he works and continues to learn the game.  He's got a great coach in P.J. Carlesimo, a great teacher.  I think he'll definitely be one of the better ones."

Despite all the fanfare Durant's received, he was nothing more than a wide-eyed youngster for a split-second just prior to last week's game against the Suns.

"When we played Phoenix on Thursday, Steve Nash said, 'How are you doing, Kevin?'  I mean, I looked up to Steve Nash when he first came into the league.  I've seen him when he won the MVP's, when he was in Dallas winning, so it was kind of funny to see him and have him know my name."

You might want to open a newspaper or log onto HOOPSWORLD a little more frequently my man, because in case you haven't noticed, you're already big-time.  Besides, don't you suppose Nash and the rest of the NBA check out a headline every now and again?

"No, I didn't think so," Durant said with a grin.  "I mean, I'm just a young rookie.  I didn't know they read those type of things."

And it's for this reason that Durant is so easy to embrace.  You just get the feeling that although he's already somewhat "polished" in his interactions with the media, there is still a piece of the kid's psyche that hasn't yet become jaded by NBA superstardom.  Such sentiment is further solidified after one learns of the words guiding the rookie's journey:

Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.

"It just tells me that no matter how good you are, if you don't work hard nothing good will happen for you," Durant said.  "I just try to incorporate that quote into my life."

With a mantra like that, one has to believe the kid has a very good chance of living up to the hype.