ASHBURN, Va. — The Washington Commanders have seen a jolt of energy in the early days of Josh Harris owning the team. And that reality was front and center Friday given who showed up to watch practice: NBA superstar Kevin Durant.
Durant — a Maryland native who is an unabashed Washington supporter — made an unexpected appearance at the team’s headquarters, taking in practice from a shaded VIP tent area at the top of the newly installed bleachers.
Shortly after the Commanders’ social media team tweeted out a picture of the Phoenix Suns forward and word began spreading that Durant was on hand, fans consistently tried to catch a glimpse of the superstar.
Durant’s appearance even caught players and coaches by surprise. Coach Ron Rivera said that he was unaware of the visitor until just before his post-practice press conference.
“It’s great to have KD here,” Rivera said. “I know he is a local guy. I know how much of a Washington Redskins/Commanders fan he is. Great to have his support. I mean, it is great to have the fanbase back. I mean, this has been really cool the last couple days.”
Another 3,500 attended practice Friday, a team spokesperson said. That’s an uptick over the 3,000 that attended Thursday’s session, Washington’s second day of training camp but the first available for fans to watch. Thursday’s session included appearances by Harris, limited partners Mitchell Rales and Mark Ein, and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
When the Commanders were put up for sale last year, Durant expressed interest in owning a piece of his childhood team. Though he did not join Harris’ ownership group — which includes 20 partners — Durant said in November that the District was an attractive market and that he was surprised that Dan Snyder was selling the team.
“Our market is incredible,” Durant told ESPN. “There’s a lot of support in D.C., a lot of money in D.C. to be made. … I know we’ve had some losing seasons, but it’s starting to come around for us. I’m excited as a fan. I’m excited about the sale. I’m excited to see who they bring in and who they sell the team to and see how we move forward with it.”
Durant, who wore a Commanders-themed bucket hat, exited Friday’s practice about 45 minutes before the session concluded. As he made his way out flanked by security, fans shouted, “KD! KD!”
The forward was gone before players even knew he was there.
“You can feel the excitement, you know what I’m saying?” safety Kam Curl said. “Everybody coming out to practice, all this stuff on social media, like you feel the excitement. That just gives us more motivation to come out and play harder.”
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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