Kevin Durant on track to scale Steph Curry's unanimous MVP season record amid stellar year with Suns so far
Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant is going great guns early in the ongoing NBA season and is widely considered among the solid front-runners to win MVP honors.
Heading into their road game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night, ‘KD’ was averaging 30.6 points on a 51.4% shooting clip and 47.1% from beyond the arc. His scoring output is fifth in the league which he partners with 6.2 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.2 blocks in 37 minutes.
More importantly, his consistent stellar play has towed the Suns to a respectable 14-12 record notwithstanding they have been injury-plagued this early in their campaign.
Some quarters are also surmising that if 13-time NBA All-Star Durant continues with his solid play, he could duplicate the feat achieved by former teammate Stephen Curry of becoming a unanimous MVP winner back in the 2015-16 season.
That year, ‘Chef Curry’ averaged 30.1 points on 50.4% shooting and 45.4% from deep.
Winning MVP honors is no longer new for Kevin Durant. He won the league’s top individual honors in 2014 as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder, when he averaged a career-high 32 points, to go along with 7.4 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.3 steals.
In the ongoing NBA season, he has played in 22 of the team’s first 26 games.
Kevin Durant named among top players in NBA In-Season Tournament
While it remains to be seen what individual awards Kevin Durant will earn in the ongoing season, in the first-ever NBA In-Season Tournament he was named among the top players.
The 35-year-old superstar was part of the NBA All-Tournament Team after averaging 34.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 60.9% shooting clip and 69.6% from three. He helped the Phoenix Suns reach the quarterfinals of the “tournament within a tournament,” where they lost to eventual champions LA Lakers.
In the NBA All-Tournament Team, he joined Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks), Anthony Davis (Lakers), Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers) and LeBron James (Lakers), who was adjudged tournament MVP.
The All-Tournament Team, the NBA said, was arrived at based on player performance in both Group Play and the Knockout Rounds. Players were chosen without regard to position.
A total of 20 media members were on the selection panel. Kevin Durant was the lone player out of the five to not have all 20 voters select him, walking away with seven votes. But it was still enough to land him on the list.
The NBA In-Season Tournament was implemented for the first time this season to add dimension to the league year. The tournament had a similar format to that of in-season European football tournaments and the WNBA Commissioner's Cup. All 30 NBA teams competed in it from Nov. 3 to Dec. 9.