2. What to do about Kevin Durant?
When he was healthy, Kevin Durant was unquestionably one of the five best players in the NBA this season, but like Paul, he will finish the season having missed about 20 games. If Durant is in the 99th percentile of all NBA players but only plays in 75 percent of the games, how does he compare with someone who is in the 98th or 97th percentile of players but plays in 90 or 95 percent of games?
That is the question voters will have to wrestle with.
He definitely has competition, but unlike guard, there are more open forward spots up for debate. LeBron James, Kawai Leonard, and Giannis Antetokounmpo are the only no-brainers (Draymond Green should be, but there is a scenario where he gets left off, which we’ll get to in a bit).
Even with the missed games, Durant is a safe bet to get one of the remaining spots. He is the best player on the best team, and the other two dominant forwards in the league will both finish with under 75 games played, minimizing how voters will views the games KD has missed.