I mean, we all saw the injury, right? In the Finals, against the Raptors. KD was cooking, hitting everything he took, and then boom. Achilles injury. Out for a year. With the pause in last year’s season, it turned out to be 552 days since we saw KD take the floor, and he did not disappoint upon his return.
There hasn’t been one single game where I thought he wasn’t living up to his former self. The lowest scoring output he’s had all season was the first game of the year with 22 points. I know in today’s age of high paced basketball, scoring 20 points in a game seems kind of so-so. I mean, when you see people scoring 30, or even 60 like we saw with Steph Curry earlier this year, I can almost forgive you for thinking that 20 is no big deal. What I won’t forgive is if you’re unable to see how scoring 22 after over 500 days off of your job isn’t a big deal.
For any non-fan or casual fan of basketball, hi, hello. How are you? I hope you enjoy your stay. I also want to make something clear to you. 20 is a huge feat in the game of basketball. Some of the best scorers in NBA history weren’t able to score over 20 a game for their career. Tracy McGrady, Magic Johnson, Klay Thompson, Chris Bosh, John Wall. All under 20 points per game. Kevin Durant right now, for his ENTIRE career is averaging 27.07, which is FOURTH in NBA history. I can’t explain to you how significant that is. LeBron James? Sixth all-time. Kobe Bryant? 13th. Shaq? 23rd. Kevin Durant is hands down one of the most gifted scorers I have ever seen in my lifetime.
It isn’t even how much he’s scoring: it’s how he’s scoring. Pull-ups, dunks, transition three’s, post-ups, KD can literally do it all. The game is just so easy for him. It is truly a marvel to watch. Which brings us to this season. After over 500 days of basically sitting on the shelf, KD has come out and is averaging 30 points per game. How is his shooting? 54% from the field, 48% from deep, and 87% from the line. Achilles injuries are notoriously hard to come back from. A lot of players have suffered one, and not too many have come back from it. DeMarcus Cousins, Wesley Matthews, Piston’s Isiah Thomas, Patrick Ewing, the list goes on and on. The only person in NBA history to “come back” from the injury, meaning they put up similar numbers in comparison to their pre-injury play, was Dominique Wilkins. What KD is doing is nothing short of amazing, and it should be appreciated even more so than it is.
So what does all of this mean? To me, and to Stephen A. Smith, I think it means that KD is going to win the MVP this year. Every year, we see players dominate the league to the point where it is obvious who the MVP is. Giannis, LeBron, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kevin Durant back in 2014, Steph Curry. All of these players are at the top of their class when it comes to being able to step on the neck of their competition, and those MVP awards are deserved. What KD is doing is different. Much different. We’ve never seen a player come back from such a gruesome injury, and play at this level. 30.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game. Incredible.
I get nervous sometimes watching him play. KD is still so explosive, especially coming off a cross-over, so sometimes I wince when I see a hard cut or something of the sort. I’ve seen too many times where a player, coming off an injury, tries an old move and gets re-injured. I don’t think I have to mention it, but we’ve seen this multiple times with Derrick Rose. After that ACL injury in 2011, he just wasn’t ever the same. I don’t want that to happen to KD, so I’m always a little nervous watching him play. So far he’s been able to stay healthy, and he seems to be getting his numbers no matter who’s on the floor. I mean, in James Harden’s first game as a Net, KD had 42 points. I firmly believe that KD can play with anyone on the planet, and this is no exception.
I want KD to stay healthy. I don’t wish for any player to ever get hurt or miss significant time, but I really like watching KD play. He’s so smooth, he’s shifty, he’s crafty. There isn’t anything on the floor that he can’t do. It is always a joy to be able to watch KD go to work, and I want to see that for as long as possible. If he’s able to maintain his health, I think we’ve on the road to the most incredible comeback story in NBA history. From crumbling on the floor, to hoisting the MVP award. We still have a long season left, so anything can happen, but if this keeps up, Kevin Durant will be your 2021 NBA MVP, and I’m glad I’ll be here for the ride.
Round The Game 
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