NBA
Kevin Durant More Than An NBA MVP?
Kevin Durant NBA’s Best Player?
Can we attempt to consider Kevin Durant as the NBA’s Best Player? Yes, in Durant’s tenure as an NBA player we definitely could. In order to gain a full perspective of Durant, we need to go way back to his rookie year and progress throughout his whole NBA career.
Kevin Durant’s NBA Debut
During his time in high school, he was a heavily recruited prospect. Ultimately, Durant played one season of College Basketball with the Texas Longhorns after high school in 2006-2007. He formally declared for the NBA draft on April 11, 2007 at the conclusion of that season, but not before finishing with a 25-10 record overall, and a 12-4 conference record.
Durant was unanimously recognized as the National Player of the Year. He won the John R. Wooden Award, the Naismith College Player of the Year Award, along with all eight other widely recognized honors and awards. It made him the first Freshman to win any of the National Players Awards. Durant was a first round second overall draft pick and was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics.
During his first regular NBA season game, the then 19-year-old Durant put up 18 points, 3 steals, and 5 rebounds against the Denver Nuggets. On November 6th of his rookie season, he made his first game-winning shot against the Atlanta Hawks. At the end of his rookie NBA season, he was named the NBA Rookie of the Year. He averaged 20.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. Durant had joined Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James as the only teenagers in league history to average 20 points per game during an entire NBA season.
Seattle SuperSonics Transition To OKC Thunder (2008-2016)
After a spectacular rookie season from Durant, the SuperSonics relocated from Seattle to Oklahoma City to become the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder also drafted UCLA Guard Russell Westbrook, who would become an all-star duo with Durant eventually. The transition for Durant had been an easy facet in his young career.
During the 2009 NBA All-Star weekend, he put up a record score of 46 points. He had also raised his scoring average up by 5 points per game by the end of the season. It made him a candidate for the Most Improved Player Award. Ultimately, Durant placed third in the voting, but he continued to improve.
Durant Gets OKC Contention Status By Analysts
During Durant’s 2009-10 NBA season with the Thunder, he was selected to his first NBA All-Star game. Since he helped the Thunder improve their record with 27 more wins than the previous season. Durant pushed the Thunder to defy the odds expectations to make the playoffs.
He had a scoring average of 30.1 points per game, becoming the youngest NBA Scoring Champion. He was also selected to his first All-NBA Team. Durant put up 24 points in his playoff debut in a game one loss against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Thunder would lose the series in six games, but the performance led analysts to label them as an upcoming title contender. Thusly, the Thunder made a deep playoff run from 2010 to 2013 proving the analysts correct.
Before the 2010-11 season began, Durant announced via Twitter that he re-signed a five-year contract worth $86 million with the Thunder. He went on to lead the league in scoring by averaging 27.7 points per game. With Durant’s progress, he rallied the Thunder to 55 games won and helped them clinch the fourth seed in the Western Conference. The synergy of the Durant and Westbrook duo had meshed and a new era for the Thunder had begun. On February 19th of the shortened-lockout season, Durant recorded his first career 50 point game against the Nuggets. At the end of that season’s finals, he led all players with 30.6 points per game. He accomplished this with a 54.8 shooting rate.
Thunderous Effect Tears Them Asunder
In the 2012-2013 season, certain factors began to cause internal damage. Durant couldn’t defend his shooting title averaging 28.1 points per game. He also becomes the youngest player in NBA history to join an elite club of 50-40-90. He recorded 51% shooting, 41.6% from three point range, and 90.5 at the free throw line. Durant rallied the Thunder to the first seed in the Western Conference. He did it despite Westbrook’s injury and carrying the burden to dominate without him.
During the 2013-14 season, Durant put up numbers such as 35.9 points per game. Also scoring 30 or more points in twelve straight games. In that same season, he scored a career-high 54 points against the Golden State Warriors. In April, he also surpassed Michael Jordan’s record for consecutive games scoring 25 points or more.
Durant averaged 41 games with shooting 25 points or more. Thusly, the Thunder finished the season with 59 wins. He became the NBA’s MVP racking averages of 32 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game. The 2014-15 NBA season was an injury-riddled one for Durant. In 27 games played, he was able to average 25.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game.
The Thunder in the 2015-16 season saw the dynamic duo of Westbrook and Durant reach several milestones. They were to become the first pair of teammates to individually score at least 40 points in a game. So where did it all begin to go wrong? Many have their theories and speculations but there just doesn’t seem to be a reasonable answer. Ultimately, Durant left the Thunder to join up with the Warriors. Garnering a lot of anger, confusion, and hatred towards KD.
KD Becomes A Warrior (2016-Present)
Durant leaves for enemy territory and despite contempt by many, he is still proving that he is a superstar. The 29-year-old small forward is a phenom and so much more than just an MVP. He has been awarded many accolades, MVP’s, and continues in his present career to shine effortlessly. He’s aggressive on the defensive end when needed and is valuable on both ends of the floor. It seems there is nothing that the young phenom cannot do, except to seriously be considered the NBA’s Best Player.
- 2x NBA Champion (2017, 2018)
- 2x NBA Finals MVP (2017, 2018)
- NBA’s Most Valuable Player (2014)
- 9x NBA All-Star (2010-2018)
- NBA All-Star Game MVP (2012)
- 6x All-NBA First Team (2010-2014, 2018)
- 2x All-NBA Second Team (2016, 2017)
- 4x NBA Scoring Champion (2010-2012, 2014)
- NBA Rookie of the Year (2008)
- NBA Rookie Challenge MVP (2009)
- 50-40-90 Club (2013)
Photo Credit
Nazrul Islam via Flickr
