Kevin Durant has been among the most-hyped to receive the MVP award this year, but his campaign received some unexpected support today when Los Angeles Clippers superstar Blake Griffin expressed that he thought the race for MVP was a two-man race between Durant and LeBron James.
The fact that Griffin is conceding the race to Durant or James is kind of a big deal, especially considering the kind of season that Griffin has had this year. Griffin has been named Western Conference player of the week three times this year, still he doesn’t feel this is enough to make him MVP, according to a report on ESPN.com .
Here’s what Griffin said:
“No, I think the MVP race is a two-man race. The stretch of games that we’ve played and we’ve been successful has been a huge team effort. Jamal Crawford was playing out of his mind before he got hurt and guys have stepped up and really done their part. With our team I don’t think it’s one guy that’s making us go. I genuinely believe it’s been a total team effort.”
Of course, Durant would probably say the same and we’ve heard LeBron say these kinds of things for years. Still — despite Blake’s success this year — it’s hard to argue with him. Durant has been otherworldly this year .
In 65 games so far this season, the 25-year-old Durant is averaging a career-high 31.8 points per game . Top off the scoring average with 5.5 assists and 7.6 rebounds per game and it is easy to see why Kevin is a top MVP candidate.
Durant’s numbers are even more impressive when you compare them against James’ stats from one year ago — when he won the MVP award. His stats from the 2012-2013 season included 26.8 points per game, 7.3 assists per game, and 8.0 rebounds per game.
Of course, Kevin Durant is anything but a shoo-in. While Durant has played great, LeBron could easily sneak into the top spot with a few spectacular weeks to end the NBA regular season. Currently he averages 26.7 points, 6.5 assists and 6.9 rebounds per game.
Of course, Kevin’s statistics only tell part of the story, It is the manner in which Durant has performed this year that has shot him to the top of the MVP leaderboard. A quick glance at some of his highlights this season will prove Kevin has been dominating with style.
So do you believe Griffin that the MVP award is a two-man race? Do you think Kevin Durant can pull out the victory?
[Image via Bing]