PHOENIX — Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant is one of the 15 greatest players to ever touch the hardwood. He is the standard of USA basketball in international play. He looks almost as good as ever nearing age 36.

That doesn’t mean that retirement hasn’t crossed his mind, especially recently.

“As I get older in the league and the league is getting younger, I tend to think about retirement more,” Durant lamented in an interview with TV One.

“[Retirement] creeps in my mind for sure. I honestly don’t know what I’ll do [when I stop playing]. I have a lot of different interests. I definitely want to stay around the game… That’s gonna be a huge, huge transition… It hasn’t been no other lifestyle but this.”

These are the first official words directly from the man himself that confirm that the end is near as an NBA player – although it isn’t entirely shocking as he is entering his 18th season in the league, the belief has been that he could play into his early 40’s if managed well moving forward.

He was noncommittal either way surrounding his status for the 2028 Olympic games in Los Angeles following the recent gold medal triumph, but these words are those of a player that is looking to wrap up their career in the next three-to-four years.

There is no shame in that in any form, as the 2014 NBA MVP is just over five years removed from a career-altering achilles tear that he has returned from like virtually no one else in league history has in the past.

Durant is under contract with Phoenix for two more seasons, with the opportunity to extend either this summer or next, which is the ultimate goal for both sides per Shames Charania of The Athletic on The Pat McAfee show yesterday.

While it looks as if Durant is plotting towards post-career business opportunities, such as buying a minority stake in soccer club Paris Saint Germain, he is still playing at a superstar level in Phoenix – averaging 27.1 PPG, 6.6 RPG, and 5 APG en route to an all-NBA second team selection.

Suns fans should undoubtedly appreciate the Slim Reaper while he’s still around – it won’t last forever.