Kevin Durant knows what it takes to earn the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award. During his 12 year career, the former Golden State Warrior brought home one Maurice Podoloff trophy (2014) and two Finals MVP awards (2017 and 2018).
After suffering an Achilles injury in the 2019 Finals, Durant was sidelined for his first season as a member of the Brooklyn Nets. With Durant recovering from injury, the NBA’s MVP field was left between Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James and James Harden.
On Friday, the league announced Antetokounmpo won his second consecutive MVP with 85 first-place votes and 962 total points. The Milwaukee Bucks forward is the first player to win back-to-back MVP awards since Warriors guard Stephen Curry won in 2015 and 2016. James placed in second in the voting with 16 first-place votes and 753 points.
In a recent appearance on The Joe Budden Podcast, Durant spoke about the competition between James and Antetokounmpo for NBA hardware. After Budden said he believed James should have won, Durant chimed in on the 2020 MVP race.
The criteria is the regular season, but I understand. I feel the same way you feel. I think that they should evaluate the whole season — playoffs included. If you include the playoffs, the Bron is easily the MVP. But I see why, with the rules now, why Giannis was the MVP. His numbers were crazy.
Listen to Durant’s explanation on The Joe Budden Podcast via Spotify at the 106:40 mark.
On his way to earning the title of back-to-back MVP, Antetokounmpo averaged 29.5 points on 55.3% shooting from the field with 13.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists, one block and one steal per contest in the regular season. “The Greek Freak” placed in the top-five in both points and rebounds per game.
Antetokounmpo helped lead the Bucks to a league-high 56 wins. Despite a top seed for the Bucks and impressive numbers from Antetokounmpo, their run through the postseason didn’t last long. The Miami Heat eliminated the Bucks in the second round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs in only five games.
While Antetokounmpo and the Bucks begin their offseason, the James led Los Angeles Lakers are trying to punch their ticket to the NBA Finals at Disney World.
During the Orlando Bubble playoffs, the 35-year-old is averaging 25.6 points on 54.7% from the field with 10 rebounds, 8.7 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks in 12 playoff games. Although he missed out on the MVP, James still has the chance to leave the Orlando Bubble with hardware.
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