I'm not sure any mother of any player in the NBA feels as appreciated as Kevin Durant's, after he basically broke down crying dedicating his NBA MVP Award and trophy to his mother during the ceremony and speech. Yes, she was crying as well. What a humble, great kid Durant is, a true role model in the NBA who is the exact opposite of almost everything Mr. Lebron James stands for ("I want to be the first billionaire basketball player") .
Kevin Durant seems like he almost took away attention from himself in this years playoffs so far by deferring to his mom in the speech. He's easily been the best NBA player in the playoffs as well, being up 2-1 to the Clippers in round 2 of the playoffs. He's been putting up great numbers and is shooting the ball like the stud he is, yet there hasn't been enough media and discussion about it. Maybe it's because he does have a very humble, shy personality, one in which will never "test" Lebron James as far as who the better player is...
We all assume Lebron is still the best, as he's almost coasted in the playoffs and has his team up 2-1 in the second round as well. But looking at this season Kevin Durant was the best player for sure. Now Lebron was "coasting" so many assume (including myself), but he's coming off 2 championships and the Eastern Conference is as bad as it's been in awhile, meaning they wouldn't have to worry about getting home-court in most of the playoffs.
But Lebron never won a title without Wade and Bosh and the Heat. He brought his team to the finals once without them, just like Durant. They are actually more similar than we realize. Especially if you compare Lebron's years to Durant's up to the age Durant is currently at age 25 in his 7th season and 5th consecutive playoffs. We thought after year 3 Durant had finally become a stud and top player, but he only made more improvements each off-season up to now. He's gone from 2.7 assists a night his first 4 years to 5.5 assists a night this season, a drastic improvement showing he can pass and create for others. He's improved his solid 47%FG his first 4 seasons to over 50% the past two years, pretty amazing for a volume shooter. I'm not sure he's done improving.... But here are this year's stats at age 25 in year 7, winning the scoring title for the regular season as well as the League MVP...
KD: 32.0 Points, 7.6 Rebounds, 5.5 Assists, 1.3 Steals, 0.8 Blocks on 50%FG
*9.9 FTA's a game at 87%FT
*20.8 FGA's a game for 32 points a night; crazy efficient
*Career High PER of 29.8
The following link shows stats and advanced stats for Lebron and Durant through 7 seasons to age 25, and they are eerily similar up to that point; Lebron a better passer while Durant shoots the trey and FT's better:
Comparison of Durant to Lebron through Age 25 & 7 Seasons
I just think Kevin Durant deserves much more credit as a great player. Too bad if he doesn't win the Championship this year he will end up being labeled a "soft mama's boy" by fans and the media. He dug his own hole there, as nothing positive could really come out of that beautiful moment. Durant is truly a sincere guy, but he needs to take some of that spotlight and let the media in. He has a "silent alpha dog, I will take over this game" mentality that no journalist has yet to really capture.
By the way, I know Durant "studied" Rose's MVP Speech from 2011... I wonder if it's all just pure publicity stunts. Or both just love their Mama!
MOMMMMA!
PS to OKC: *Trade Westbrook this off-season if you fail to make the Finals; Kyrie Irving, Rajon Rondo, or how about Marcus Smart (college in OK) in a trade that lands you a ton of upgraded talent as well (especially a low post PF/C type player). Consider playing Ibaka at Center to start next season, with an athletic, two-way PF that can shoot mid-range or more, as well as have a low post game (a Millsap type of player, though ATL teammate Horford healthy would be nice too).
*OKC trades Westbrook, Thabo, Perkins to ATL for Jeff Teague, Paul Millsap, Lou Williams or Korver
PSS: Happy Mother's Day to the beautiful woman that inspired me to become MVP of NBA Blogging!
Kevin Durant seems like he almost took away attention from himself in this years playoffs so far by deferring to his mom in the speech. He's easily been the best NBA player in the playoffs as well, being up 2-1 to the Clippers in round 2 of the playoffs. He's been putting up great numbers and is shooting the ball like the stud he is, yet there hasn't been enough media and discussion about it. Maybe it's because he does have a very humble, shy personality, one in which will never "test" Lebron James as far as who the better player is...
We all assume Lebron is still the best, as he's almost coasted in the playoffs and has his team up 2-1 in the second round as well. But looking at this season Kevin Durant was the best player for sure. Now Lebron was "coasting" so many assume (including myself), but he's coming off 2 championships and the Eastern Conference is as bad as it's been in awhile, meaning they wouldn't have to worry about getting home-court in most of the playoffs.
But Lebron never won a title without Wade and Bosh and the Heat. He brought his team to the finals once without them, just like Durant. They are actually more similar than we realize. Especially if you compare Lebron's years to Durant's up to the age Durant is currently at age 25 in his 7th season and 5th consecutive playoffs. We thought after year 3 Durant had finally become a stud and top player, but he only made more improvements each off-season up to now. He's gone from 2.7 assists a night his first 4 years to 5.5 assists a night this season, a drastic improvement showing he can pass and create for others. He's improved his solid 47%FG his first 4 seasons to over 50% the past two years, pretty amazing for a volume shooter. I'm not sure he's done improving.... But here are this year's stats at age 25 in year 7, winning the scoring title for the regular season as well as the League MVP...
KD: 32.0 Points, 7.6 Rebounds, 5.5 Assists, 1.3 Steals, 0.8 Blocks on 50%FG
*9.9 FTA's a game at 87%FT
*20.8 FGA's a game for 32 points a night; crazy efficient
*Career High PER of 29.8
The following link shows stats and advanced stats for Lebron and Durant through 7 seasons to age 25, and they are eerily similar up to that point; Lebron a better passer while Durant shoots the trey and FT's better:
Comparison of Durant to Lebron through Age 25 & 7 Seasons
I just think Kevin Durant deserves much more credit as a great player. Too bad if he doesn't win the Championship this year he will end up being labeled a "soft mama's boy" by fans and the media. He dug his own hole there, as nothing positive could really come out of that beautiful moment. Durant is truly a sincere guy, but he needs to take some of that spotlight and let the media in. He has a "silent alpha dog, I will take over this game" mentality that no journalist has yet to really capture.
By the way, I know Durant "studied" Rose's MVP Speech from 2011... I wonder if it's all just pure publicity stunts. Or both just love their Mama!
MOMMMMA!
PS to OKC: *Trade Westbrook this off-season if you fail to make the Finals; Kyrie Irving, Rajon Rondo, or how about Marcus Smart (college in OK) in a trade that lands you a ton of upgraded talent as well (especially a low post PF/C type player). Consider playing Ibaka at Center to start next season, with an athletic, two-way PF that can shoot mid-range or more, as well as have a low post game (a Millsap type of player, though ATL teammate Horford healthy would be nice too).
*OKC trades Westbrook, Thabo, Perkins to ATL for Jeff Teague, Paul Millsap, Lou Williams or Korver
PSS: Happy Mother's Day to the beautiful woman that inspired me to become MVP of NBA Blogging!
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