After delivering an MVP-like performance on Friday for the Brooklyn Nets, Kevin Durant opened up about the current MVP race between Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic, as well as his thoughts on not being in the conversation.
The Nets gutted out a home win over the Portland Trail Blazers, but it wasn't always pretty. At one point they trailed by 18 points to a team missing Damian Lillard.
Durant saw what he usually sees: a lot of double and triple teams. It seems as if more and more teams are defending him this way. But he was still the game's MVP, finishing with 38 points, six rebounds and six assists.
After the game, KD weighed in on a subject that's on everyone's minds lately. With just a handful of games remaining in the season (the Nets have 11 left, Kyrie Irving is eligible for just three more), who is Durant's pick for 2022 NBA MVP?
If you've been following the race, FanDuel says that the race is boiling down to Giannis Antetokounmpo (+700), Nikola Jokic (+190) and Joel Embiid, the betting favorite as of March 7th (-110). But everyone wants to know what Durant thinks.
First things first. Let's be honest, if KD hadn't sprained his MCL in January and missed 21 games, he might well be at the top of this race. Is that frustrating for Slim Reaper to think about, as he hear his home fans at Barclays Center chant MVP while draining game winning free throws on an almost nightly basis?
“No it's not frustrating,” Durant admitted. “I've experienced what it's like to win MVP and that doesn't validate me as a player. I mean I know what I can do. It's always great to get some home fans, some hometown love, and for fans to recognize you as one of the best players in the league. But nah, I wouldn't say that I'm pissed off or mad that I got — it's just part of the game and — but I understand the type of player that I am.”
Is KD frustrated he won't win MVP cause of his knee injury?
"No it's not frustrating. I've experienced what it's like to win MVP and that doesn't validate me as a hum- player…. It's always great to get some…some hometown love… but I understand the type of player that I am." pic.twitter.com/kRwOFWTzDw— DaveEarly (@DavidEarly) March 19, 2022
But Okay, who does KD think should be MVP then?
“If I had to take a guess, I will go, it's between Joel Embiid, DeMar DeRozan, Ja Morant for me, those are my top three,” Durant said. “And I'll probably go Joel. It's, I mean [Nikola] Jokic, you could throw Jokic in there, but I'll probably go Joel. I mean there's so many players playing at a high level man, so like I said the other day, league's in a great place.”
We can unpack this a bit. First of all, he didn't name Giannis, the dude who hoisted the NBA Finals MVP last year. Is that a tribute to his friend Kyrie, who threw some shade at The Greek Freak earlier this season?
He only “threw” in Nikola Jokic, who is many fans' favorite pick to repeat as MVP. It was almost as an afterthought, and Jokic clearly didn't even make his top three. Very interesting. We wonder why Jokic isn't higher.
Embiid is a natural choice here, as he's the favorite on some popular betting sites. And if you listen to the media lately, it's all about Embiid vs. Jokic. So that settles that. KD gives the nod to Joel “The Process” Embiid.
Indeed, as Durant noted, he did talk about the place the league is in the other day and gave mad props to Joel.
"Joel Embiid, DeMar DeRozan, Ja Morant for me, those are my top three [for MVP] and I'll probably go Joel. Jokic, you can throw throw Jokic in there. But I'll probably go Joel."
-Sounds like Kevin Durant gives his vote for MVP to Joel Embiid. pic.twitter.com/755IgFVoMG
— DaveEarly (@DavidEarly) March 19, 2022
So it sounds like KD has accepted that he won't win MVP and that doesn't bother him. If you play the clip posted above, he almost says MVP doesn't define him as a human, but then stops himself and says player. It's an interesting slip of the tongue. One thing his good friend and teammate Kyrie Irving often reminds us is that Irving isn't defined by the game he plays for a living. Is Kyrie rubbing off on Durant?
It's also interesting that Durant says “I understand the type of player that I am.” That part almost sounds like an understatement. Does he mean the best player in the world?
If you listen to the “Nothing but Nets” podcast, you know we think Durant is the best player you could have for a big game or playoff series. So yeah, don't worry Kev, we don't define you by the 2022 regular season MVP either.
Durant gives much love to DeMar DeRozan and Ja Morant both having All-NBA seasons. That's really cool but we cannot help but wonder why he doesn't have Giannis or Jokic in his top three. We wonder what he'd say about that.
https://twitter.com/NetsNationCP/status/1504429332575694849?s=20&t=K1L4zxTCP5qsDleiGShsMg
One thing we do know, he has had several jawing sessions with Joel Embiid this season and he clearly gets motivated a bit more for The Process. When he contrasted the '90s with today's game, he pointed to some of the things Embiid is doing, the kind of skills he has for a man his size. Maybe that's what got Durant's attention. After all, once upon a time, we all saw a dude 7-foot tall who played like a 6-foot-3 guard out of Texas do things we've never seen someone his size do.
That scrawny kid, Durant, is now one of the ten best player of all time. These days, Nets Nation is more focused on Finals MVP than league MVP. But whoever KD wants to vote for can have our vote. Congrats Joel.
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