Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant has gathered a long list of accolades during his 14-year NBA career. Those include 12 All-Star appearances, 10 All-NBA selections, four scoring titles, two Finals MVPs, Rookie of the Year, and a spot on the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team.
However, despite his growing status as the greatest scorer of all time, Durant has only been named MVP once in his career. Several of Durant's current counterparts have won the award several times, including LeBron James (4), Stephen Curry (2), Giannis Antetokounmpo (2) and Nikola Jokic (2).
Durant is off to one of the best starts in his career this year, but his name has rarely been mentioned in early MVP conversations.
The Barclays Center crowd set out to change that Monday as MVP chants rained down during Durant's 45-point performance on 19-of-24 shooting against the Orlando Magic. The Nets forward scored 28 points on 12-of-13 shooting in the second half to will his team to victory. Durant's 24 shots in the Brooklyn win were the second-fewest attempted during a 45-plus-point performance this season.
Despite the spirited chants from the Brooklyn crowd, Durant said he was not concerned with winning MVP when asked if the award serves as motivation this season.
“Nah, not really. I've been there, done that to be honest,” Kevin Durant said. “I know it's going to take a lot from me to be in that conversation. I just want the respect from our fanbase and I want them to have a good time when they come to the game. That's what strikes chants up, is how I play, from the fans as long as they're having a good time.
“I'm not too worried about accolades at this point in my career.”
The 34-year-old's hot start to the season comes while leading the league in minutes played. Durant has scored 25-plus points in 20 of 22 games while posting historically efficient shooting numbers.
The fourth-year Net leads the league in field goal percentage (54.8) among players attempting 18 or more shots per game. Durant also ranks second in true shooting percentage (65.9) among 57 players averaging 14 or more shots, trailing only Stephen Curry (68.8).
Kevin Durant's outburst Monday brings the Nets to .500 for the second time this season. Brooklyn will look to carry momentum as it continues a seven-game homestand, with matchups against Washington, Toronto and Boston later this week.
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