Brash and confident, budding strength trainer Alan Stein walked right up to 16-year-old Kevin Durant in a Maryland high school gym.

“Look, man, you have all the tools to be one of the best players in the world, but the only way you can do that is to get stronger,” Stein recalled telling Durant back in 2005. “I can help you. Give me a shot.”

Skilled with a silky jumper and blessed with a recent growth spurt, Durant was a highly coveted 6-foot-10 hoops prospect attending nearby Oak Hill Academy, a national power.

But the current Thunder superstar wore his obvious weakness on that slender teenage frame. He was 185 pounds, rail thin and lacking on-court strength.