3 reasons why Kevin Durant is the favorite to win NBA MVP this season

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Brooklyn Nets Media Day featuring Kevin Durant

The fate of last season’s Eastern Conference semifinals literally rested on Kevin Durant's toes. Had not an inch of his shoe stepped on the line, the Brooklyn Nets could have advanced to the next round of the playoffs. Without Kyrie Irving and playing with a compromised James Harden, the Nets relied on Durant’s brilliant performance to push the Milwaukee Bucks in a Game 7 for the ages.

Questions about how he would recover from a devastating injury that probably cost the Golden State Warriors another championship should be laid to rest. Kevin Durant is back. His spectacular 2020-21 campaign should serve notice that the Slim Reaper is out to complete some unfinished business in the coming NBA season.

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𝙇𝙊𝙉𝙕𝙊'𝙎 𝘽𝙐𝙍𝙉𝙀𝙍

@wonzoswurner

Bucks vs Nets was arguably the best series this playoffs. Kevin Durant showed us once again why he's the best player on the planet and carried his team to a Game 7 against a 2x MVP. #GREATNESS

2:40 AM · Jun 20, 2021

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Bucks vs Nets was arguably the best series this playoffs. Kevin Durant showed us once again why he's the best player on the planet and carried his team to a Game 7 against a 2x MVP. #GREATNESS https://t.co/unJp6u4QZD

After that disappointing playoff loss, Durant put on his Team USA jersey and led the Americans to another gold medal in the Tokyo Olympic Games. It’s safe to say that the US Men’s National Basketball team needed every bit of Durant’s unmatched skills to clinch gold.

The impressive form he displayed after returning from a ruptured Achilles tendon made him the presumptive favorite to win the NBA MVP of the 2021-22 season.

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How can Kevin Durant justify the unofficial tag of being the best in the world?

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#3 Durant has to remain healthy

Kevin Durant after helping Team USA beat France for the basketball gold medal.

Health will always be the critical factor in Kevin Durant’s quest for greatness. After being out for 18 months the season before, the Brooklyn Nets took a careful approach and monitored KD's minutes. There were some back-to-back games where he did not play. Load management was very evident last year as Durant was trying to round out to form.

The 2021-22 NBA season could be more of the same. With the NBA back on an 82-game schedule, the grind has to be kept to a minimum for Kevin Durant until at least the middle of the season. If there is a team that can give Durant games off and on minutes’ restriction, it would have to be the Nets. The presence of James Harden and Kyrie Irving is going to keep Durant fresh and ready.

Skip Bayless

@RealSkipBayless

All I know is what I've been saying for three years: Kevin Durant is The Best Player on the Planet. He ran away with the MVP calculations. And if Kawhi was halfway healthy, he'd be ranked above LeBron. More @Undisputed, now on FS1 twitter.com/undisputed/sta…

UNDISPUTED

@undisputed

Kevin Durant favorite to win MVP, LeBron 7th on the list:

"LeBron isn't even in the same stratosphere as KD. And LeBron is actually above his teammate, Anthony Davis, as an MVP favorite?! He shouldn't be above AD for MVP!" — @RealSkipBayless

11:44 AM · Sep 17, 2021

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Kevin Durant favorite to win MVP, LeBron 7th on the list:

"LeBron isn't even in the same stratosphere as KD. And LeBron is actually above his teammate, Anthony Davis, as an MVP favorite?! He shouldn't be above AD for MVP!" — @RealSkipBayless https://t.co/kHYwda5j9B

1:49 AM · Oct 11, 2018

All I know is what I've been saying for three years: Kevin Durant is The Best Player on the Planet. He ran away with the MVP calculations. And if Kawhi was halfway healthy, he'd be ranked above LeBron. More @Undisputed, now on FS1 twitter.com/undisputed/sta…

If Durant stays healthy, there is no reason why he can’t be back to his devastating old form. There is just no stopping him from winning the NBA's top individual award.

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