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Durant urges support for women's basketball as Candace Parker makes history on NBA 2K cover


Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant is a big fan of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).

He personally watches their games and he is happy with the attention women's sports has been getting over the years.

"Women's sports I always felt was, you know, putting a good product out on the floor but a lot of people weren't recognizing it before," Durant said in an interview with the media.

"I think with the social media boom, you get a deeper insight into the athletes and you get to see how hard that they work and how tough it is to play their sport so, I think more people start to relate to these athletes, which brings more eyes and I think it's growing exponentially," he added.

His comments came after Candace Parker made history as the first ever WNBA player to grace the NBA 2K cover. She is the cover athlete for GameStop Exclusive, which is available in North America.

Durant is among the three NBA scoring legends included in the NBA 75th Anniversary edition of NBA 2K22, along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Dirk Nowitzki. Luka Doncic is on the cover of the standard edition.

Asked what NBA players could do to elevate the women's game to at least the same exposure as the NBA, Durant said people should continue to support it and watch as many games as possible.

"Once people build up the love for the game, they'll understand a little bit more. They love that we are athletic, and we can get over the top of the rim and excite people with our athleticism, and a lot of fans feel the women's game is lacking that," Durant said.

"But if you really lock in and enjoy the skill and fundamentals of the game, it's even [better] to watch. So, just watch more, try to take in a game more and have an open mind when you're watching the game, that will help," he added.

Recently, Durant invested in Just Women's Sports, a website which covers everything and anything about women's sports.

"As a professional athlete, it's always important to support and to bring awareness to these athletes and what they do on and off the floor, so I only see it getting better from here," he said.

—MGP, GMA News

Tags: Kevin Durant