Another NBA Superstar Worth Watching

The NBA kicks off the second half of its season tonight after wrapping up its All Star Weekend Sunday Night. The NBA All-Star weekend is my favorite All-Star gathering of the four major sports. The weekend includes a multitude of events including the famous Three-Point Shootout and Slam-Dunk Contest and is capped off with the actual All-Star Game Sunday Night. I know many people around the country and especially in Pittsburgh are not the biggest fans of the NBA and its All-Star game in particular, but being the hoops junkie I am I love watching the game being played at the highest level.

This year’s game, won by the Eastern Conference 141-139, was dominated by the usual suspects including Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, LeBron James and the game’s MVP Dwayne Wade. Most people have heard of these guys being the superstars they are and their recent gold medal in the Summer Olympics. But there is one superstar that is starting to get the attention he deserves, but is still overshadowed by his laidback demeanor and obscure location in Oklahoma City. This superstar is Kevin Durant. NCAA fans are surely familiar with this name from his unbelievable season three years ago at Texas but believe me when I tell you that his name belongs with the aforementioned guys when we are talking about the great young stars in the NBA.

Durant is 2nd only to LeBron in scoring right now at 29.7 points per game, ahead of the other more famous superstars Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade. What’s more is that Durantala (a nickname for Durant that is catching on) shoots a better percentage from the field than all of these guys except LeBron and has the best 3-point percentage among the top 20 scorers and 2nd highest free throw percentage among the top 20 scorers in the League. This means that Durant is not only dominating games right now to the tune of 30 per night, he is putting up his points more efficiently than all other stars not named LeBron James. Durant is averaging nearly 7.5 rebounds and 3 assists per game as well, making him a great all around player. Roundly criticized for his defense last year, Durant has improved this area of his game as well and has led his team to a 30-21 record at the break despite having its top six players being 26 or younger.

Everyone is familiar with the unique talents and greatness of LBJ, but Durant is unique and special in his own right and we may just be watching something special developing as we speak. The kid, only 21 years old, is 6’9”, long, athletic, has a great handle and an absolutely flawless shooting stroke. Bill Simmons of ESPN wondered a few weeks back if Durant was headed for a 35ppg season on 50-40-90 shooting (meaning 50% FG, 40% 3pt and 90% FT shooting percentages, all of the gold standards). I do not think he is far off in his estimation. Durant has put together 25 straight games of 25 points or more. Only two players in the last 30 years have had a streak this long, Allen Iverson (27 games) and Michael Jordan, who had a streak of 40 games two separate times. Durant will look to continue that streak tonight and enter a territory where only MJ has been. You know someone is headed for greatness when they start reaching streaks and milestones that only Air Jordan has reached. So do yourself a favor and watch Kevin Durant if and when you get the chance. You will thank me one day for giving you the heads up on watching greatness in its development stages.

There has been some talk on the radio and in the blogosphere about Pittsburgh getting a NBA franchise. The talk originated with this column from the Detroit Free Press which mentioned Pittsburgh as a possible destination for the Pistons if they were to leave Detroit: LINK. This is too far-fetched to even discuss at this point (needless to say I would be a big proponent of a team here) and maybe we will tackle it at some point in the future. But for now, if you get the opportunity to see Kevin Durant play on TV, do not pass it up. You could be watching something special in its development stages, just as LeBron was must see TV a few years ago (and still is); Durantala is quickly becoming must-see TV.