Kevin Durant on Being MVP Frontrunner: ‘Stop the Gas’

Getty Brooklyn Nets stars Kevin Durant (left) and James Harden (right)

The Brooklyn Nets collected their fourth straight win on Friday when they defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 147-125. Nine Nets players scored in double figures in the win and they needed every contribution from the squad as Kevin Durant sat out the second half of the back-to-back. The Nets are still monitoring his Achilles recovery.

Kevin Durant Looks Like His Old Self

While the Nets were able to get it done without Durant, do not discount how valuable the 2014 Most Valuable Player has been for Brooklyn this season. On the year KD is averaging 30.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game. What is even more impressive is that KD is doing all this coming back from major off-season surgery to repair a torn Achilles. While Durant is receiving praise for one of the best comeback seasons ever, he insists that he does not need the adulation. “Stop the gas. I don’t need it,” Durant said in response to a Bleacher Report post that detailed the MVP-like season he is having via NetsDaily. This season Durant is averaging more rebounds, assists, and shooting more efficiently than he did when he won MVP in 2014.

KD Was This Elite Before the Injury

Before the four-time scoring champ got injured, he was trending towards being the best player in the league. After taking just 24 shots in the first two games in a first-round matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers many people including his then-head coach Steve Kerr began to question his aggressiveness. When reporters asked him about it Durant responded by telling them “I’m Kevin Durant, you know who I am.” Durant had an even bigger response in games four and five of the series. Durant exploded for 45 points in game five and followed it up by dropping 50 on the road in game six as he sent Patrick Beverley and the Clippers packing. 

In the conference semifinals against James Harden and the Houston Rockets, Durant was averaging 33.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.4 assists before getting injured in game five. KD would return briefly for the 2019 NBA Finals but his impact was still felt. Durant had 11 points on 3/5 shooting from the fields including 3/3 from the three-point line. He did this in just 12 minutes of play before tearing his Achilles in the second quarter. Now Durant has a brand-new team and a brand-new coach but there is one thing that has remained the same for the former number two overall pick, he wants to compete for multiple championships.

Before tearing his Achilles, KD seemed to be closing the gap between him and LeBron James. KD was coming off back-to-back titles and Finals MVP awards. Many people believe that if KD never got injured it is likely that the Warriors would have won the 2019 title and KD would have won his third title and third Finals MVP. That would have tied LeBron at the time. Since Durant’s injury, LeBron has added another championship and Finals MVP to his trophy case. Do you think that KD needs any more motivation than that?

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