It takes many looks to get the complete view of Kevin Durant, to not only see the genius, but the self-awareness of that genius as well.

On one side, Durant has basketball skills rivaled only by LeBron James for a player entering his first NBA season in the past decade. His talent has been described as “special,” “once in a lifetime,” and “unreal.” Last year, Kansas coach Bill Self referred to Durant as “a joke.” High praise, indeed. Self’s theory? Durant’s ability simply was not believable.

That is, of course, until he proved it. And then did it again. And again. And again. By the end of his lone collegiate season at Texas, Durant had proved it so many times that he could have filled a wall the width of Texas with all of his awards.

All indications are that Durant will keep proving it in the NBA, too. One night after opening his professional career, Durant is back at it on Thursday, leading the Seattle SuperSonics at home against the Phoenix Suns. He’s ready.

“My mom always told me to dream big,” said Durant, who turned 19 less than two months ago. He speaks softly and is difficult to hear in a crowded locker room. He is polite and respectful, traits that his parents instilled in him throughout Durant’s childhood. At the same time, Durant talks about still being motivated by proving people wrong, the few naysayers left who doubt his ability to dominate at the highest level of basketball. And in a Q&A with Time magazine prior to June’s draft, Durant said he is “cold blooded” on the court.

Durant also brushes off the notion of savior, yet the SuperSonics, who drafted him with the No. 2 overall selection, hope the label fits — and fast. In fact, Durant’s expected on-the-floor performances — and the buzz surrounding them — likely represent the last chance at generating the political and taxpayer support required to fund a new arena and keep the team in Seattle.

At Texas, Durant noted that he has been the leader of his teams. At SuperSonics media day, however, Durant said, “My mind-set is that everybody is a leader. Being a leader is just helping your teammates out.”

Andrew D. Bernstein / Getty Images Contributor Kevin Durant was popular with fans from the start of Summer League play in July.

And on goes the dichotomy: the push and pull of maturity and adolescence. Trying to balance what he was taught through the values of work, compassion and accountability, with the lion’s deep-rooted aggression that is at the core of all superstars. Trying to balance his team’s needs with his own needs, and the singular ability to take over on every possession.

In moves indicative of just how much they think of their prized rookie, the SuperSonics dealt mainstays Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis in separate offseason moves. The team obviously felt that making Durant the leader, the centerpiece from which to build right away, far outweighed any advantages of bringing him along slowly and letting him learn from a pair of all-stars who averaged nearly 50 points between them for a 31-51 team.

Durant has a proven track record of significant first-year gains.

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He averaged 25.8 points and 11.1 rebounds and led the Longhorns to a 25-10 record and the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Eight of his Texas teammates were either freshmen or sophomores, and Durant quickly became the leader of a depleted team that had lost three players (LaMarcus Aldridge, Daniel Gibson and P.J. Tucker) early to the NBA.

“He’s a great teammate,” Texas coach Rick Barnes said in a recent telephone interview. “Kevin realized last year that for him to do what he had to do, the guys around him had to get better. And we talked about that, about leadership. Everybody talks about the ‘it’ factor. To me, the ‘it’ factor is that you simply want to win. He gets it.”

Durant, a wiry 6-feet-9 and 215 pounds, will likely play four positions in the NBA before his career is over. But until Durant gains some additional muscle he’ll drift between shooting guard and small forward, areas where he can take advantage of his scoring prowess without the additional banging in the paint.

One trait shared by many of the greats, including Tracy McGrady — a player with whom Durant is often compared — is how every movement appears in rhythm, never rushed.

“What really stands out,” said Barnes, “is how effortlessly he puts the ball in the basket in a variety of ways. “With his wingspan, he’s like 7-5 and he catches everything. He’s got hands of a surgeon.”

Durant can shoot 3-pointers, put the ball on the floor, get into mid-range jump shots or take it all the way to the basket. He runs well and can also work in the post against shorter players.

His well-known work ethic has most certainly sent thousands of NBA-hopeful kids back to the gymnasium for more basketball.

Before he was 10 years old, Durant began playing at Seat Plasant Activity Center in Maryland, not far from Washington D.C. Two years later, Taras Brown, who works at the center, became Durant’s personal coach. Brown began shaping Durant’s talent through drills that are detailed in a thick notebook.

The lengthy daily workouts (up to 10 hours on weekends) — which consisted of shooting and dribbling drills, exhaustive running and virtually no pick-up games with his friends — would have broken kids with even the strongest wills. Not Durant, though. On more than one occasion, however, young Durant broke down in tears. Another time, Durant left the gym.

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