Earlier in the season, many fans and sportswriters pointed to budding superstar Paul George as a favorite for MVP. George has been stellar in leading the Indiana Pacers to the best record in the NBA for most of the season. Others have fawned over the emergence of LaMarcus Aldridge as a legitimate MVP candidate after the Portland Trailblazers’ surprisingly strong start out West. Of course there can be no MVP discussion without the reigning, defending champion aka LeBron James.
As wonderful as each of the aforementioned players has performed, they all far short of the man known as “K.D.”
There’s an unconfirmed rumor that Thunder games will now be televised by the Food Network after watching Kevin Durant repeatedly roast defenders on the court. In his last 13 games (a baker’s dozen), the perennial MVP candidate is averaging nearly 38 points with a couple of game-winners to boot. Most recently, Durant grounded the Houston Rockets after dropping a game-winning shot over three overmatched defenders. To make matters worse, despite the triple coverage, it wasn’t a forced shot. Durant made it almost look easy, forcing Hawks’ fans to wonder why the coach had the two other guys guarding anybody else.
It’s not like Durant has only been feasting on the bottom of the food chain, either. During Durant’s impressive run, he’s dropped 30-plus on the playoff-bound San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets, 40-plus on the Portland Trailblazers and Atlanta Hawks, and 50-plus on the Golden State Warriors. Furthermore, he’s shooting nearly 54 percent from the field during the impressive stretch and is leading the league in Player Efficiency Rating (PER) this season.
Last season, the Oklahoma City Thunder watched its title aspirations spiral down the drain when All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook suffered a season-ending knee injury during the playoffs. Sure, Durant was still there to lead the squad, but the loss of such a valuable contributor so late in the season spelled doom.
This season, though Westbrook has once again been bitten by the injury bug, Durant seems determined to put the squad on his slender shoulders and carry the team back to the NBA Finals. His stellar play should help the team be patient with Westbrook and ensure that he is fully recovered before he returns from his third knee surgery in the past nine months.
Assuming Westbrook returns shortly after the All-Star break, he’ll be back in plenty of time to re-gel with his team before the playoffs begin. However, his time away has given Durant more time to establish himself as the guy in Oklahoma City. It’s also helped fast-forward the development of youngsters Reggie Jackson and Jeremy Lamb. Both have received valuable playing time and increased responsibility in Westbrook’s absence. That experience will be invaluable during the Thunder’s playoff push, especially if Westbrook aggravates an injury.
Speaking of pushes, there’s been a recent one to find a new nickname for Durant. Over the years he’s most often been referred to as “K.D,” but other nicknames such as “Durantula” and “Iceberg Slim” have made the rounds. The next nickname destined to fail is Reddit-born “Slim Reaper.”
Sure, it’s catchy in a sense but Durant announced via Twitter that he’s not a fan and there’s nothing I want to see less than Durant in some cheesy ESPN or Nike commercial wearing a lame reaper costume. Might as well throw a chef’s hat on him and call him “Slimeril” the way he’s cooking the competition like jerk chicken.
Cheesy nicknames aside, let’s move back to the MVP race, if we can still call it that. At this point Durant is doing his best Usain Bolt impression and leaving the rest of the field in the dust. Regardless of whichever nickname is left standing once that dust clears, the smart money is on Durant being called MVP at season’s end – and possibly even NBA champion.
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