Kevin Durant is Making a Strong Case for the MVP Award

Kevin Durant is Making a Strong Case for the MVP Award

Kevin Durant has made a name for himself as one of the best players in the NBA over the past few years.

However, many of the NBA picks have had Jayson Tatum and Giannis Antetokounmpo at the forefront of the conversation due to their respective team’s success.

What shouldn’t be overlooked, though, is how Durant has been able to navigate through tough, unprecedented waters.

Navigating Troubled Waters

He had to deal with the controversy surrounding Kyrie Irving sharing a documentary containing antisemitic tropes on his social media accounts and the fallout from Irving’s initial failure to apologize.

Irving was ultimately suspended for eight games, but throughout his suspension, it was unknown if Irving would ever play for the Brooklyn Nets again. There was much talk that the Nets could choose to blow it up and fulfill Durant’s trade request that he made over the offseason.

KD didn’t make matters any better when he opened up about the state of the team, which was certainly honest but unflattering if you’re a Nets fan or someone within the organization.

“Look at our starting lineup. Edmond Sumner, Royce O’Neale, Joe Harris, [Nic] Claxton, and me. It’s not disrespectful, but what are you expecting from that group?” Durant asked of B/R. “You expect us to win because I’m out there. So if you’re watching from that lens, you expect us to play well because No. 7 is out there.”

That comment went viral but was taken out of context, as KD made it a point to lower people’s expectations, given that the team was still trying to figure things out. They lacked-star teammates he could rely on at the time, as KD is used to playing on teams with a ton of star-studded talent throughout his career.

“It’s been fun grinding with these dudes. It’s been fun grinding with (Nets head coach) Jacque (Vaughn). It’s been fun to leverage myself to help everybody else get better. I’m learning the game more and seeing all types of crazy defenses every night. I never know how a team is going to guard me. This is all helping me mentally as a player to see things a little slower, playing a little slower.

“Individually, I’m like, ‘All right, I have to dodge five defenders,’ but it’s fun going through that s–t because it’s only making me better as a basketball player. If I can experience everything in the league, my career is set. I’ve experienced it all: championships, Rookie of the Year, All-Stars, free agency, requesting a trade, All-Star MVPs, and Olympics. I did everything in this league.”

Durant’s Mindset and Leadership

That’s exactly the mindset that has led KD to be able to right the ship despite the controversy and dysfunction surrounding the team, as he was able to help lead the Nets to a 5-3 record sans Irving and help reshape their identity as a great defensive unit.

The Nets sit with a 13-11 record at the time of this writing after starting the season with a 1-5 record.

KD was very turnover prone and looked disinterested at times on the defensive end and uncharacteristically unaggressive in hunting for his shots. Instead, he hoped his presence alone would be a decoy.

But now, KD is back to scoring the ball at a high level and engaging himself on the defensive end while making it a point to limit his turnovers, which is still a work in progress.

It takes a true, bonafide leader and a superstar talent to dig a team out of such a deep, ugly hole as the Nets were in, as the argument could easily be made that the Nets wouldn’t even be a playoff team if they don’t have the services of Durant.

The Nets still have much work to re-establish themselves as true contenders. Still, if the Nets find themselves with a top-three record in the Eastern Conference and Durant stays healthy, there is a strong argument to be made that the MVP Award should go to Durant, given everything he and the Nets have had to go through this season.