After reading these 5 photos, will you still envy Durant’s 1 billion net worth?

In today's NBA league, Durant is undoubtedly a superstar who is on par with James and Curry. With his center-like figure and comprehensive personal skills, Durant is a walking scoring machine on the court. He has won two championships in his career, twice as a finals MVP, once a regular season MVP, four scoring champions, countless honors of all sizes.

Durant not only shines on the court, but also gains a lot in the business field. His total salary in his personal career is $500 million, and he also signed a life contract worth $400 million with Nike. His value has exceeded $1 billion, becoming a veritable winner in life. However, success is never easy to achieve. Behind Durant's current shining achievements is his unknown hard work and endless sweat.

2019 Finals G5 is an unforgettable battle for Durant. At that time, the Warriors were striving to achieve the three consecutive championships, and Durant himself was trying his best to do his best for this goal. In that critical game, Durant, who had not yet fully recovered, resolutely chose to make a comeback forcibly, trying to help the team win the game. However, fate played a cruel joke with him at this moment. He unfortunately broke his Achilles tendon on the field. This serious injury not only ended his dream of winning abruptly, but also cast a shadow on his career.

Durant did not choose to give up after experiencing the major blow of Achilles tendon rupture. He embarked on a long and difficult journey of recovery, a process full of pain and challenges. Due to long-term bed rest and recuperation, his calf muscles showed severe atrophy. It can be clearly seen from a photo that Durant's right leg became extremely slender, which contrasted with the thick and plump muscles of the left leg.

In addition to his innate talent, Durant's self-discipline is no less than any top star in the league. Even during his recovery period, he did not let himself go and did not slackew. Although he was unable to perform normal leg training due to a leg injury, Durant did not give up on exercise because of this. He insisted on training his upper limb strength every day. It was this persistent effort that made him still maintain his body shape perfect after being injured for a year without any signs of gaining weight. From this photo, we can see that during rehabilitation training, Durant still maintained a high-intensity training state, with clear muscle lines in his upper limbs showing his strong self-discipline and persistent love for basketball.

Injuries seemed to have become a stumbling block on his way forward. In addition to that heart-wrenching Achilles tendon rupture, he also suffered a fifth metatarsal fracture in his career, commonly known as "Jones" fracture. This injury is also an extremely serious blow to basketball players, because it will directly affect the players' mobility and competitive state.

In addition, Durant's left knee has also been eroded, the collateral ligament on the medial side has even been torn, and his toes are even severely deformed, which can only be repaired through surgery. This series of injuries is a huge challenge and test for any athlete, and it is enough to put their careers into a trough. However, Durant walked out of these injuries again and again with his perseverance. Although Durant and James have always been regarded as "mortal enemies" by the outside world, in fact, the two have already established a deep friendship and often train together during the offseason to improve each other. As can be seen from a photo, Durant and James are fully engaged in training. Their serious attitude towards basketball makes us understand a truth: on the road to success, talent is important, but hard work and self-discipline are the key factors that determine success or failure. People who are better than you often work harder than you, which is the secret to Durant and James being the top stars in the league.