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SUE BIRD OF THE WNBA AND KEVIN DURANT OF THE NBA AMAZE LEGIONS OF FANS ON ANY GIVEN NIGHT. THEY EXPERIENCE THE SAME FEELING­ WHENEVER THEY EXPLORE THE EMERALD CITY.
. Photographs by Brad Hines.

Sue Bird and Kevin Durant may be two of the brightest stars in the Seattle sports universe. They may enjoy the adulation of millions of fans worldwide and have fat Nike-endorsement contracts. But on this unusually crisp day, they are in danger of becoming roadkill.

For the last leg of their marathon photo session, the lensman, hoping to snare a faux-casual shot or three, has them walk together outside Seattle's Key Arena. "You're talking, talking, talking," he caws. As they move toward the camera, a white van inches toward them from behind, its driver and the photo-shoot party oblivious to each other's presence. As the potential peril dawns on nearby observers, the van stops in its tracks, and the driver barks something or other out the window, likely having no idea who these people are that he nearly steamrolled.

Bird and Durant barely notice, wrapped up as they are in conversation about Seattle and its hot spots. Durant, of course, is "the Chosen One," the phenom whose arrival as the second pick in the 2007 NBA draft has Sonics fans thinking Jordan-esque thoughts. Bird, meanwhile, is a veteran both on and off the court. The pure point guard relishes involving her teammates on the court, and she's happy to serve as an ambassador for the city when she's off the court - even now, she's willingly schooling her new rookie pal on everything that Seattle has to offer.