Last season Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder at just 22 years old became the youngest scoring champion in NBA history, came in second place in the MVP voting, and was seven tenths of a second from pushing the eventual champion Lakers to a seventh game. Right now Kobe is still the best, Durant is second, and LeBron and Wade follow. By the end of this season I think Durant will be the undisputed best player in the world.
At 6-9 Durant possesses guard skills and a big man's body, a deadly combination for the rest of the league. He can rise up and shoot over pretty much anybody and he will go by whoever is guarding him if they play too far up on him. Because he can score at will, Durant gives the Thunder a great chance to win night in and night out.
This year I expect big things from the Thunder. With Durant and Russell Westbrook leading the pack I think they have a good chance to make a deep run into the playoffs. There's no reason to believe that the Thunder won't be a dangerous team in this year's playoffs.
Durant is better than LeBron because A, he's a better scorer and a much better teammate. Durant gets his shots up but he is not selfish in doing so. And B, because Durant's game doesn't interfere with any of his teammates'. LeBron is a dominant player, but (at least in Cleveland) he has the ball in his hands far too much. Often times his teammates can't get into the game because it's the LeBron James show.
Right now the reason why Kobe is still the alpha dog is because of his ability to close out games. With the game on the line there is nobody in the league who I would rather give the ball to. It seems like every time the game is in his hands he delivers. Durant has hit some game winners but Kobe does it on a consistent basis. Once Durant shows that he's clutch enough to close out games like Kobe he will be the best player in the league.
Once he takes the throne, I don't see him getting knocked off for awhile. Because Wade and James joined forces in Miami they are immediately removed from the conversation. The young wave of all stars like Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo, and Deron Williams are all game changers and they all consistently lead their teams to the playoffs but they're just not on Durant's plateau.
I am willing to guarantee right now that Durant leads the Thunder to at least two championships before his career ends. I'm happy I get to live in a time where I can see one of the most dominant scorers ever develop and grow. Averaging 30.1 PPG this early in his career is Jordanesque. I can't wait to see what he does for an encore.
The Thunder kick off the season at home against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night on ESPN.
