As I have said in my previous post, Kevin Durant is my favorite player in the NBA. So to hear the swish in the net from all of his made shots during this stretch of greatness is just sweet music to my ears. Durant’s 54 point game was just the beginning. After Wednesday night’s win over the San Antonio Spurs, the D.C. native has gone nine consecutive games where he has scored 30 points or more. He is currently averaging 37 points per game during the month of January. And these magical performances have been helping the team out as well. After this win against the Spurs, the Oklahoma City Thunder have won five in a row and are 3-0 against Gregg Popovich’s team this season. That’s pretty impressive considering that San Antonio is one of the best teams in the NBA right now. When the Spurs play offense, it’s a beautiful sight to watch. They make great passes to find the best possible shot and every player is unselfish. That’s why they lead the NBA in three-point percentage and bench points per game this season. But let’s get back to Durant. His ability to score points is not the only thing going right for him this year. He made 10-11 free throws last Wednesday night and has shot 88 percent from the free throw line this year. During the five-game win streak, Durant has hit 52 out of 60 free throw attempts. Not only that, but he’s getting better at being a team player. His assists per game have gone up every season. This season he had to run the offense a lot more often with the absence of Russell Westbrook, but Durant has done a great job with that averaging just over five assists per game. He has also gone four straight games with double-digit field goals made. In the twelve games he has played this month, he scored more than 45 points in four of them. That’s just incredible! We haven’t seen scoring outbursts like this since Kobe Bryant’s glory days. Now that you know the stats, you should agree with me that Durant is the frontrunner of the MVP award this year. Sure it’s early and things could happen, but just this month’s performance alone should allow him to win it. Sure other players in the league have had games where they scored 35 points or more multiple times this season, but no one is doing it as consistently as Durant. He is almost unguardable, being six-foot-nine (I’m pretty sure he’s taller than that) and have the shooting stroke that he has. If Durant could keep this performance up in the month of February, then who knows, LeBron James would be old news. But forget about the stats and the hype. The real reason why I’m a Kevin Durant fan is because of his relationship with God. Durant has not only progressed as a basketball player, but also in his Christian walk with the Lord.
“My mom always sat me down and talked to me and I have spiritual teachers that help me out,” Durant said in an interview with Chad Bonham. “I’m not perfect at all by any means. I’ve got a long way to go to become closer to the Lord but hopefully I can continue to stay on the path. I might take a few steps forward and take a couple steps back and take some steps forward, but I want to get better.” (Credit: beliefnet.com)
And through all the fame and fortune, Durant remembers where he came from and it’s his humilty that has impressed me the most on and off the court.
“In the Bible, it says the Lord exalts humility and that’s one thing I try to be all the time—when I’m talking in front of people or when people tell me I’m great, I remind myself that I can always be better. I always work on what I have now. I’ve just got to be thankful to the Lord for what the gifts He’s given me. My gift back to Him is to always be humble and to always try to work as hard as I can. I’ve got to continue to be that way.” (Credit: beliefnet.com)
God has truly blessed Kevin Durant and has given him an unbelivable amount of talent. It’s this kind of God-given talent that can take the Thunder all the way to the NBA Finals this year.
The Basket Foot 