Kevin Durant is creeping up on that scoring title
Kevin Durant (photo. NBA)Exactly three months ago, as part of our ‘08-09 NBA season preview from Dime #45, I re-posted one of my entries from the mag onto the website:
Kevin Durant will lead the NBA in scoring.
The reaction I got at the time was, let’s just say, not encouraging: “Fuck this ignorance,” “Can’t you write anything sensible?” “Seriously, this article is plain stupid,” “How freaking stupid is Austin?” were some of the comments.
Well, turns out I might not be that stupid.
Going into All-Star break, Durant is currently fifth in the League in scoring at 25.6 points per game. That’s one-tenth of a point behind Dirk Nowitzki for fourth place, and within three whole points of League leader LeBron James. Yeah, it would be a big stretch for KD to catch ‘Bron or D-Wade at this stage, but Top-5 isn’t a bad place to be. It’d be like someone predicting Carmelo would lead the NBA in scoring in ‘07-08, and calling it a blatant misfire when ‘Melo finished fourth. I’d imagine those who called me out for my preseason prediction on Durant were thinking he’d fall more into the 15-20 range, not within a few buckets of LBJ, Wade and Kobe.
After an inconsistent first month that included a few too many under-20 nights to threaten anybody’s scoring crown, KD has since developed into the buckets machine I expected him to be this season. Twice he’s cracked 40 points in a game, and in each of Oklahoma City’s five games in February he’s topped 30, including last night’s 31-point effort against the Lakers on the road.
And the most impressive part is that he’s not just jacking. Durant is hitting 43 percent of his shots beyond the arc, 12th in the League and the highest three-point percentage of any of the of the League’s Top-50 scorers. His field goal shooting (48 percent) is higher than Kobe, Dirk, Danny Granger, Brandon Roy and Devin Harris, all who rank in the NBA’s Top-10 in scoring. Throw in that fact that Durant is averaging 6.7 boards as a skinny two-guard and a respectable 2.8 assists for a team that doesn’t score a lot of points (21st in the League) — and an increasingly competitive team at that — and it’s clear Durant isn’t just playing Pop-A-Shot with a bunch of bums. He hasn’t just become one of the most lethal scorers in the League; he’s become one of the most lethal players in the League.
So maybe he won’t catch the handful of guys in front of him to become the League’s youngest single-season scoring leader of all-time. But the fact that he’s even within striking distance says a whole lot.
February 11th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
RED says:
WORD!……N FIRST….yesssssss
February 11th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Drink the Haterade (KB24 Chip 09) says:
Man, how good would Portland be if they had KD at the three? I wonder how many fans think about that when GO is fouling out our injured?
February 11th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
Vinny says:
and he’s younger then oj mayo-Damm!!
February 11th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
Vinny says:
dime-u realize that he’s playing the 3 now right?
February 11th, 2009 at 5:37 pm
Gerard says:
You had it all going…until you said ‘respectable 2.8 assists.’ That ain’t respectable. But yeah, Durant is developing nicely, and what’s more is he’s doing it covertly without any attention from the media. I’m rooting for him.
February 11th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
espesyalist says:
What could of been in Seattle…
February 11th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Yoooo says:
I think Durant is gonna have one explosion game where he drops like 60+ at some point this season. He’s a 6′9 Gilbert Arenas with good health. He’s a nightmare to defend man
February 11th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
SayItAintSo says:
His acne is clearing up too…GO DURANT
February 11th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
pig says:
he’s not 2 guard anymore but he is still skinny
February 11th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
uguysoncrack says:
I could get 2.8 assists with no hands
February 11th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
siree says:
espn needs to let us watch kd. f*ck vujacic
February 11th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
doc (might be going to Sixers or Warriors summerleague team) says:
He is a monster.
February 11th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
Mikey B says:
When K D bulks up he will be the most talented player in the league.
He will combine Kobe’s sweet shot, with Lebron pure power and Melo’s craftyness. The only thing we have yet to see is how he can create shots for others.
The NBA is in good hands.
February 11th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
Toby says:
Kevin Durant is of his way, no doubt:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Kevin-Durant-Texas-or-How-to-Increase-Vertical-Jump&id=645239
p.s. Jeff van Gundy’s voice reminds me of Chris Rock
February 11th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
George W Kush Sr says:
He’s developping nicely.
But yall gotta find a better nickname than KD, it rings Kraft Dinner in my head everytime, lol
February 11th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
dk says:
lol at the kraft joke that was not funny but the writer laughed at his own matierail
February 11th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
Michorizo says:
Great player in the making….
February 11th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
Dagomar says:
Well, I mocked this prediction, and I was expecting Durant to fall somewhere in the 22-25 ppg range. Not enough to win the scoring title, but not bad either.
Is Durant a well-rounded player? Absolutely not. His defense is hideous. His passing needs work. And for a 6′10″ guy with crazy wingspan his rebounding could be better. But he’ll get there, and it looks like he’ll be one of the league’s best players sooner rather than later.
February 11th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
Ian says:
uguysoncrack
u wouldnt get ONE assist playin on that team so forget that.
yoooo
dont insult the kid hes not arenas
drink
oden is still the 1 pick actually there was a debate about this on pti and around the horn
February 11th, 2009 at 10:42 pm
jzsmoove says:
KD is not a taller Arenas, he is of the same mold of a Tracy McGrady. A taller, longer version of TMac and that aint bad. Austin Burton IS that stupid. Stop glorifying yourself that you are the only one seen KD cracking the top-5 scoring race. and by the way placing top-5 does not make you a scoring champ. not even number 4 or 3 or 2. nobody remembers how much you beat the #2 and how close the other ones are. If you aint #1 you aint scoring champ. As Ricky Bobby (and his dad) puts it…”If you aint first…You’re last!”
February 12th, 2009 at 1:00 am
BEdger says:
Well he just got outplayed by Oden, so don’t go crowning this kid as a superstar too fast
February 12th, 2009 at 1:58 am
tp says:
@ BEdger
yo normally i dont post, but you shouldn’t really ignore what happened just LAST week..
http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=290206025
you a big blazer fan or something? it’s ok to admit to a bad draft pick you know.. still feeling the ill effects of bowie/jordan?
and don’t forget.. oden is playing on a LEGIT squad..
February 12th, 2009 at 4:48 am
oliver says:
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February 12th, 2009 at 7:21 am
redstorm11 says:
those near 3 assist a nite says a lot considering the squad he is in. this is sorta like lebrons squad in his second year, at least he had Z gooden among others,and they had experience. sure kd got green and westbrook but they are too young and incontsistent. put him in a decent squad and he could get those 2 or 3 more assists easily
February 12th, 2009 at 9:08 am
mrcanadian says:
Austin does it again. Way to pat yourself on the back for nothing. You said he was going to lead the league in scoring, but he’s not. He’s in the top 5, if you said he was going to be in the top 5, then maybe you’d deserve some respect, not a lot, but maybe a small amount. He’s not going to catch Lebron or Wade, so it is not necessary to justify your wrong prediction. You were wrong. Live with it.
February 12th, 2009 at 9:46 am
bullet380 says:
Austin,
Don’t sweat the ignorance of the uninformed. You saw it. I saw it. KD is the real deal. He will lead the league in scoring one day. Maybe not this year or next, but his star is definitely on the rise. People keep throwing in the fact that he’s 6′10″ and isn’t pulling down 10 boards a game. Has anyone ever thought that maybe his coach wants him to SCORE instead of rebound? The crack about the 2.8 assists. Is he a POINT GUARD? Should he be averaging 8 assists per night? I thought that’s why they had Russell Westbrook and Earl Watson.
When KD starts averaging 30 ppg, everyone is going to start saying, “I told you he was going to great”.
February 12th, 2009 at 10:02 am
karizmatic says:
I’m with Gerard, when did 2.8 assts, become respectable? Either way you slice it KD didn’t figure to lead the league in scoring. 5th isn’t bad, I wasn’t one of the people that commented on your prediction, but I would have thought he’d be around 22 ppg this season not where he is, but not 15 -20 either. C’mon on OKC? Who else is going to score out there? He’s at least going to get 22 just off the strength of being the only real option.
February 12th, 2009 at 10:11 am
SWAT says:
karizmatic…jeff green and russell westbrook are killing too…ck the stats. Really i think the only knock on dudes is that they are young. they have stretches where thy look great and they at times thy will stink it up. its ok that will all come in time. either way i picked up the durants and his jersey…dont sleep on tht unit. its sick
February 12th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
BEdger says:
@tp – yes I am a Blazers fan and I know exactly what happened last week, but Durant is in his second year. He has said many times this year how much easier the game is for him now that he has been through a season. Oden hasn’t had that same time to adapt to a new league (following surgery) and yet he has numbers that rival D12’s rookie year.
I’m not saying Oden is better than Durant right now, I’m merely saying that it’s a little too early to say that Oden is a bust. Anyone who has watched him all year (I have) can see a totally different player than the guy who started the year getting stripped from behind on every dunk attempt. This kid is starting to own the paint, and when he really learns the nuances of the NBA game he is going to be an absolute beast.
February 12th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
555 says:
I have been watching KD’s games since he was drafted by Seattle. He has the package to become a great all around player for sure and maybe one of the greatest.
First of one, he will need teammates that are good and contsistent, just like MJ with the Bulls. I know he only has average 2.8 assist on the stats sheet but I saw alot of his passes turned out to be nothing when his teammates couldn’t make the shots when they were wideopen. And the Thunder players don’t move enough as a team.
I don’t think Oden is burst or something neither. He is a beast in the paint and almost unstoppalbe when he can hold himself together. Oden just need more playing time in the NBA and there will be plenty for him.
They are not playing the same position so it’s hard to say who is better because I don’t see basketball as a one player game unless you are playing one on one game, so as long as they get other good players around them then they will be ok. The only way to compare them is, wait to see who has more rings after they retire from the NBA.
I don’t think KD will get the scoring title yet, but wait until he spend more time in the weight room. Pobably a year or two later, he will be unstoppalbe and scoring titles will come.