OKLAHOMA CITY -- The day after his Oklahoma City Thunder were knocked out of the second round of the playoffs by the Memphis Grizzlies, Kevin Durant vowed to learn from this season, not lament it.

That view is very different from the one Kobe Bryant offered up when he was 32, when he said any season that didn't result in an NBA championship was "a wasted year of my life." Bryant spoke in 2011 after the Lakers were swept from the playoffs by the Mavericks.

"Nothing's ever a wasted year for me. It's basketball. I've grown so much as a man since the beginning of the season. I've grown so much as a leader. Nothing is ever wasted," the 24-year-old Durant said.

"Of course, the ultimate goal in this league is to win a championship. But I'm never going to say I wasted a year. I'm blessed to even wake up and do something I love every day. So it's never wasted."

Don't like that answer?

"I don't give a damn," Durant said firmly. "I'm going to be who I'm going to be. I'm not Kobe Bryant. I'm not Michael Jordan. I'm not LeBron James. I'm not Magic Johnson. I'm me. I'm not going to ever compromise myself, my integrity and what I believe in for winning some basketball games and winning a championship. That's just not how I was brought up.

"I'm always going to fight for this game I love. I'm going to claw until the last buzzer sounds. And if that's after a championship then, of course, I'll be happy. I'm not satisfied just being in this league and losing. I'm going to work as hard as I can to try to get to that mountaintop. I enjoy playing the game. I enjoy being here. But I'm never going to come out to the media and say we wasted a year because we lost a championship. Like I said, I don't have to be Kobe Bryant."

Veteran point guard Derek Fisher, who has played with both Durant and Bryant, said Durant's comments have as much to do with his age, relative to Bryant's at the time, as his personality.

"If Kobe was 25, his answer may have been different," Fisher said. "But 15 years into a career where so much had been accomplished already, I could relate to that answer.

"But I can also relate to Kevin's answer today. To accomplish what was accomplished last season [when the Thunder went to the NBA Finals], then to lose a talented player like James [Harden] and gain a talented player like Kevin Martin but have such a completely different roster from a year ago and still win 60 games and still be one of the best teams in the league, that says a lot about the direction of this organization.

"So I can see why Kevin would still be optimistic about where things can go in the future."

Fisher said Durant's laid-back personality plays a role, as well.

"Toughness is not always how you show it, or try and show it off," Fisher said. "There's a toughness that doesn't have to be talked about or kind of put out there for display. That's Kevin's style. That's what he's about. I think other teams in the league see it that way also. I think everybody would like to have him on their side, instead of against them."

Or, as Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said the other day, "He's so competitive, but he doesn't feel like he has to tell the world how competitive he is."

Durant had carried the Thunder since Russell Westbrook was lost for the playoffs with a knee injury in Round 1, averaging 28.8 points, 10.6 rebounds and 6.6 assists in 46 minutes a game during the physical series.

But the burden eventually became too much to bear. Durant shot just 5-for-21 from the field in Oklahoma City's 88-84 loss to Memphis in Game 5 on Wednesday night. In the fourth quarter and overtime of the last three games of the series, Durant was a combined 4-for-22 from the field for just nine points.

"I really don't think about being tired when I'm on the floor. If I think that, that's how I'll feel," Durant said. "But last night after the game, I don't usually drink Gatorade after a game, but I drank like four or five bottles of Gatorade. I think if I wouldn't have did that, I'd have passed out.

"I just tried to give it my all. I had to live with the results, which were tough. But I'm embracing it, embracing the hard time and looking forward to the future."

That future will include the return of Westbrook, who is on crutches after surgery to repair his torn meniscus.

Westbrook said he'd spoken with Bulls guard Derrick Rose recently and came away from the conversation knowing he needed to "take my time" and wait until "I was 100 percent" before coming back. With a long offseason to heal, however, that shouldn't be a problem.