Kevin Durant lights up the NBA at young age
The youngest player in the history of NBA to win the MVP award was Wes Unseld at the age of 23. At the end of the next season i.e. the 2010-11 Season, Kevin Durant will be 22 years old. He therefore has another chance to write his name in the history books once again at an early age.
Kevin Durant has reached the position he is standing quicker than other superstars in the NBA. His quest to glory started by winning the National College Player of the year at the age of 18. Adding to his credits, he also won the Big 12 Players Award in 2007.
His career in NBA also started at the same heights at which he had finished his College Basketball career. At the age of 19, he was named the Rookie of the Year in NBA. This marked the start of his NBA career with a blast, a player who without a doubt has the potential to reach the Hall of Fame.
Though being at a very early age, Kevin has bagged tons of achievements already. The most recent one being the youngest player to lead the league in scoring, this previously belonging to the two times MVP LeBron James. The level of consistent performances that this young and exciting player puts up can be seen from the record he established for most consecutive 25 points efforts.
2010 saw this talented player finish second in the running for the MVP award. LeBron James took the MVP award for the second straight time this season.
The end of 2009-10 season has seen many changes till now. Oklahoma City have emerged as one of the powerhouses of the Western Conference. Their performance in the past season was very impressive as a result, they are expected to finish in second position in the Western Conference in the upcoming season.
LeBron James moving to Miami Heat presents Kevin with an opportunity to achieve more this season. It is obvious that with superstars like Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade, LeBron would have to share the duties. This would result in his statistics decreasing slightly.
With this said, the other two contenders in Kevin Durant’s path are Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard. However, the preparation and the squad in hunt for the ever strong Lakers, and their running for another title may somehow hinder Kobe’s chance for the MVP player award. On the other hand, Dwight Howard who has built himself as one of the best centres of the NBA had a less productive 2008-09 season. But the two times Defensive Player of the Year is surely to put up a challenge for Kevin Durant.
Kevin Durant has had three seasons in the NBA now and each year he improves his statistics. His scoring average increased from 20.3 to 25.3 in the first two seasons. At the end of this season it had reached an amazing 30.1. His rebounding average increased from 4.3 from the first to 7.6 during the last season. He improved not only in this department but also shooting, assists, blocks and steals. He was second best in player efficiency the past season.
With things going as they are, Kevin’s scoring is expected to hit 35 points per game which is huge. Even if he doesn’t manage to do that and just maintain last year’s performance he would be the top in contention for the MVP award in 2010-11 season.
Not only his efforts and statistics on court, Kevin Durant has managed to establish himself as an example off court too. The young sensation has leadership qualities that would benefit him and the team in future. His humble character along with the passion he possesses makes him a role model of how a superstar should be. He has already achieved many accolades at an early age with many more to come. But in 2011 he has a MVP award to win.
Oklahoma City will be behind this superstar as will the NBA fans. Now what remains to be seen is if he will be able to add the MVP award to the long list he already has?
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