Jan 7, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) drives in between Sacramento Kings guard Darren Collison (7) and forward Rudy Gay (8) during the first quarter at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
2. Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
Spiders are deadly, grim reapers are scary and motivation is fueling. All three combined creates Kevin Durant who will be on a mission to return to his 2013-14 MVP form, after battling ’14-15 with a nagging foot injury which required multiple surgeries.
He’s entering this season with more of a chip on his shoulder, in order to prove that he can still dominate the game, make opponents look silly and talk an abundance of trash to the opposition.
Some will argue that he’s still technically the reigning MVP, because he couldn’t defend his title due to missing 55 games with the aforementioned injuries. With an evolved Russell Westbrook, a legitimate sixth man in Dion Waiters, a low-post presence in Enes Kanter and a developing floor-spacer in Serge Ibaka, KD winning MVP might be a little more difficult.
The optimism though comes from the offensive innovation from Billy Donovan, and the Thunder historically being among the league leaders in scoring.
Everything’s in place for Durant to be in the MVP talk who will be equipped with probably the best assembled team, on paper, he’s ever been on since entering the NBA.
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