Kevin Durant Is Your Back To Back NBA Finals MVP

Love him or hate him, Kevin Durant has proven his decision to leave Oklahoma City for Golden State was the right one. He’s been the butt of jokes, the focus of hate and has constantly heard he “ruined the NBA” but everything he has done on the court shows none of that matters. Durant is now a two time champion with the potential for more in the future being very strong and he is now also a two time NBA Finals MVP. He joins Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Lebron James and Hakeen Olajuwon as the only players with back to back MVP’s and there is a strong likelihood that he isn’t done winning this award.

During the four game sweep, Durant averaged 28.8 points, 10.8 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game, all while shooting 53% from the floor and taking over when it mattered most. Game one was somewhat shaky for his standards, as he finished with 26 points on 8-22 shooting. In game two however, as Steph Curry loudly went off in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach, it was Durant with a quiet 26 points on 10-14 shooting that kept the Warriors in the game until that fourth quarter. Then in game three he single-handedly carried the Warriors to victory with a historic 43 point game with 13 rebounds and 7 assists and taking away the life of whoever tried to stop him. In the series clinching game four, he ended with a triple double of 20 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, while making great decisions with the ball throughout the night.

Durant credited the environment with the Warriors for helping him become a better player. “It’s just about the journey, all season,” Durant said. “Getting up every day, going to work with these guys, it’s amazing. The environment is incredible. It’s good for you to be around guys like this. It helps you become a better basketball player and a better man.”

Nike dropped this great commercial in honor of Durant soon as the series ended.

There were some people out there who believed Steph Curry should have won the MVP award this time around but nothing pointed to him being the better player or having the bigger impact this series. The final vote tally for the award was 7-4 in favor of Durant over Curry but it probably shouldn’t have even been that close. All the traditional stats, as well as advanced stats pointed to Durant being better and his performance in game three was completely series changing and soul crushing for the Cavs. Durant shut down any potential controversy or hurt ego’s over who won the award during his post game presser.

Steph, to his credit, said Durant was more than deserving of the award. “KD’s been amazing these last two years, especially in the Finals and so deserving of back to back Finals MVP’s and I’m going to be his biggest fan in there with what he’s able to do.”

At this point now with a 2-1 career record in the Finals with a total of 14 games played in those three Finals, it’s time to talk about Kevin Durant as being one of the best players ever when the stage is the biggest. In five games during the Finals last season, when the Warriors dispatched the Cavs in five games, Durant averaged 35.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 5.4 assists, while scorching the nets with a 56% shooting percentage. If we factor in the 2012 Finals where Durant lost as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder, his career average in the Finals is 32 points per game and doing it hitting 55% from the floor, including 43% from three.

Despite the big night, Durant took a moment to reflect on everything the game of basketball has done for him, via Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated “I feel indebted to the game. It saved my life, changed my life. I thought I would live in Maryland my whole life… I’m just forever grateful. Championships and stuff means a lot, but picking up a basketball changed my family’s life. This is the cherry on top.”

Durant is currently 29 years old and his resume already makes a case to be talked among the top 10 players ever and the second best small forward ever behind Lebron but he still has probably 5-6 years of prime basketball left which means he has plenty of time to make even more history, which is scary news for the rest of the league.

Written by @IamJoeSports