What a season it’s been for Oklahoma City Superduperstar Kevin Durant. Already the best pure scorer in the league (this coming from a Kobe stan), KD has taken his game to a whole different level in the 2013-14 season.
While everyone may have been watching March Madness last night, Durant did it again. KD dropped 51 points, 12 boards, 7 dimes and the game-winning trey in a win over the Raptors. It was just another great performance in a long line of them this season for Durant.
With the regular season now hitting its home stretch, performances like this spark the MVP debate all over again. There is never a shortage of opinions involved, although some carry a little more weight than others. Especially when it is a former three-time MVP weighing in.
Kevin Durant scoring 51 points tonight sealed the deal on the NBA MVP race.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) March 22, 2014
Kevin Durant's game winning 3point shot proved to us that he is the MVP.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) March 22, 2014
Now basing an entire season’s award on one impressive performance is a bit out there, but KD has been doing this all year. In fact, Durant’s stat line from last night was incredibly rare.
Kevin Durant: 51 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists last night; 1st player to reach those totals in a game since Michael Jordan in 1992
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 22, 2014
His only real competition for the award is Lebron James, and statistically speaking Durant is having the better season. While their rebounding, assist and field goal percentage numbers are similar, nobody is scoring like Durant this season.
.@KDTrey5 currently has 5 of the 8 highest point totals by a player this season (54, 51, 48, 48, 46)
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) March 22, 2014
It will be interesting to see how the award situation plays out as the season comes to a close. But if I were a betting man, I’d put my money on Durant taking home the hardware for this first time.