InspireMe Friday: You Can't Miss This — Kevin Durant Just Won Mother’s Day with His Tearful MVP Speech

"Everything in my life, I had to take it. They're not going to give it to you out of sympathy. This was another case, if I wanted to win the MVP, I had to go take it."

Good Morning Folks,

Kevin Durant's reaction to winning the MVP was much like what we see at our own awards ceremonies at FSO, for much the same reasons. The last person he talked or bragged about was himself. It was a team and family effort, just like the one that drives us and accelerates our careers at FSO, every day.

The Oklahoma City Thunder star received the league's top individual honor on Tuesday, earning 119 first-place votes. Miami's LeBron James, who won the last two MVP awards and four of the previous five, finished second with six first-place votes, and Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers was third.

I've always been a player that was excited for my teammates' success," Durant said. "Not just mine, but my teammates' as well. Wanting to see them do well translates to my game, which is wanting to pass the ball and seeing my teammates reap the benefits."

In short, he's been extremely hard not to root for since entering the NBA in 2007. But after Tuesday's speech, he's impossible not to root for.

With all the cameras on him, he gave all the glory to his teammates individually, fights back sobs, pays homage to Oklahoma City fans, and more importantly to his mother, Wanda Pratt, for her all her personal sacrifices to help him succeed in life.

“And last, my mom,” Durant said tearing up, approx. 23 minutes into his already impassioned speech.

“I think you know what you did,” he said, as the camera cut to his emotionally overcome mom. “You had my brother when you were 18-years-old. Three years later, I came out. The odds were stacked against us. Single parent with two boys by the time you were 21-years-old. Everybody told us we weren’t supposed to be here. We moved from apartment to apartment by ourselves. One of the best memories I had, is when we moved into our first apartment – no bed, no furniture – and we just all sat in the living room and just hugged each other, because we thought we made it.

“And when something good happens to you, I don’t know about you guys, but I tend to look back to what brought me here. And you’d wake me up in the middle of the night in the summer times, making me run up a hill, making me do pushups, screaming at me from the sideline of my games at eight or nine years old. We weren’t supposed to be here. You made us believe. You kept us off the street. Put clothes on our backs, food on the table. And when you didn’t eat, you made sure we ate. 

You went to sleep hungry. You sacrificed for us. You’re the real MVP.”

His Mom was all over TV yesterday responding. She advised moms "to never give up, to always put your children first, to always commit yourself to their dreams, their aspirations and their goals even when it gets hard.'' 

This is a tribute to the REAL MVPs ... those Mom's that give unconditional love and instill belief (even against all odds) that "anything is possible" with effort! It's some seriously touching stuff, and worth watching the embedded highlights below. 

I promise it is one of the most compelling and important and Friday inspiring speeches you'll ever hear. There won't be a dry eye in the house no matter what your age, sex or position at work.

You're the real MVP

==> Durant thanks his family, including a special tribute to his mother, Wanda.

==> Durant fights back  tears while thanking Teammates

Questions and answers

>> Durant takes questions from the press, keeping it classy as ever.including co-star Russell Westbrook.

The end,” Durant closed, sending the thousands bearing witness to his speech into a furious standing ovation.

While Durant’s speech will be impossible to top, perhaps you can transcribe some notes from it for ideas of what to say to your own mother this Sunday 

For the full speech, you can visit CBS Sports or NBA.com.

Thanks to The Guardian UK , CBS and Mashable for their insights contributing to this post, for photos from ABC News, and most of all to you for watching.

Happy Mother's day to Kevin's mother and to all of our mothers living or gone, who on this day they should always be remembered either way.

Now in honor of Kevin's Mother, MY GREAT Mother Natalie, and Mothers everywhere, a classic song that Steph and I used to dance to back in the day:

Happy, Healthy, Safe and Refreshing Mother's Day Weekend,

Love Life!

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

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“Now is no time to think of what you do not have. 

Think of what you can do with what there is.” 
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