Kevin Durant By the Numbers
Added on Mar 07, 2013 by Scott in
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Fair or not, Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant has little chance of winning the NBA MVP. Unfortunately for him, he’s playing in the same era as LeBron James, who is a virtual lock to seize his second consecutive MVP and fourth overall at season’s end. However, this shouldn’t take away from Durant’s stellar 2012-13 campaign, which is turning into the best of his young career.
Chalk it up to Durant’s fervent determination and the need to elevate his game after the departure of James Harden. Here is his season by the numbers.
28.6 ppg – Durant is on the cusp of winning his fourth straight scoring title. James, Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony are within reach, but barring an unforeseen slump, #35 will once again wear the crown as the league’s most deadly offensive threat.
Teen sensation - Durant has scored in the teens only eight times in 60 games. His lowest output was 15 way back on November 6th.
December to remember – In the Thunder’s 13 games in the month of December, Durant totaled at least 30 points nine times. During that span, the team went 11-2.
Career highs – His 50.7% field goal percentage and 90.6% free-throw percentage are both career highs. So are his 4.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.3 blocks per game.
Blackjack – During his season high 52-point game against Dallas on January 18th, Durant hit all 21 of his free-throw attempts. He followed that up two days later by going 20-21 from the charity stripe.
Triple trouble – Durant has three triple-doubles thus far. Same number as LeBron.
Multidimensional – The Thunder are 7-1 in games in which Durant doesn’t convert a three-point shot. So much for him being just a long range shooter.
If this was any other year and that guy in Miami wasn’t around, Durant would win the MVP in a landslide. Although exacting some revenge versus the Heat in the Finals would probably ease his pain.
