So many people believed in me when I didn't believe in myself. So many people doubted me and motivated me every single day to be who I am. I fell so many times and got back up. I been through the toughest times with my family, but I'm still standing." (Schultz) The National Basketball Association precisely chooses a player at the end of every season that they feel has exhibited talent and leadership above the rest. In his 2014 acceptance speech of the NBA's most valuable player, Kevin Durant makes a persuasive argument about how he got to where he is today using his credibility, logic, and emotion. Many would not consider Kevin Durant an author because he hasn't written a book. However, through the writing and presentation of his acceptance speech, Kevin Durant creates the story of his past for the audience, making him an author of his story and of this speech.
Durant uses credibility in order to persuade the audience of his past and what has brought him to where he is. The MVP award is selected by a series of votes taken by sportswriters, broadcasters, and basketball fans. A large number of these people saw that Durant had the talent and the leadership they were looking for, resulting in him being presented with the award of MVP. This demonstrates the level of respect and reverence that people have for Kevin Durant. Over the course of the speech he went on to single out each and every one of his teammates and described in what way they had helped him to reach earning MVP. Whether it was on the court or off the court, Durant gave account to real life stories that involved every player on the team. This shows the character of Kevin Durant and the time he took to recall the influence of each of his teammates. The audience can tell from the fact that all these players are here with him, making each statement or story he describes completely credible. He does this again when talking about growing up as a child.
