Oklahoma City Thunder: Kevin Durant’s Sneaky Return To MVP Form

Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder are being overlooked, but KD’s return to MVP form won’t stay quiet for long.

With Kevin Durant on the mend and Russell Westbrook being the full-tilt triple-double machine that he is, it’s been easy to forget that the Oklahoma City Thunder are still Kevin Durant’s team. Westbrook may have the higher usage rate and an Oscar Robertson-esque stat line of 26.4 points, 9.9 assists and 7.4 rebounds per game, but OKC is still at its best with KD in charge.

Luckily, Durant is showing recent signs of life to jettison himself back into the MVP picture — even with Stephen Curry having the best offensive season in NBA history so far.

It’s been an ongoing process, and for a myriad of reasons, the Thunder are still flying below the radar.

For one thing, the Golden State Warriors’ dominant 23-0 start trumps every other team’s success; just ask the San Antonio Spurs, who are quietly on pace for 67 wins despite approximately no one noticing.

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For another, no one will be exalting OKC’s 13-8 record when they’ve won nearly 71 percent of their games with a healthy Durant and Westbrook dating back to the 2010-11 season. We’re used to seeing this team not only win, but dominate, so this is nothing special. The Warriors’ unprecedented start, along with the recent rise of the Eastern Conference, has somewhat dulled the sensation of watching this same old rerun.

We know the Thunder are good. We know they’ll finish with a top record in the West, provided they stay healthy, and we know that “provided they stay healthy” part has been a problem over the last few seasons.

But with a new head coach and the inescapable concern that Durant and Westbrook alone may not be enough to win a title once the possessions slow down come playoff time, OKC just hasn’t had that same luster early in 2015-16. Let’s face it: no one will be picking the Thunder over Golden State in a seven-game series anytime soon.

However, sleeping on the Thunder’s dynamic duo, especially given what we’ve seen out of Kevin Durant lately, wouldn’t do this team justice.

People have been drooling over Curry’s MVP season (rightfully so) and they’ve been blown away by Paul George not only returning from his horrific leg injury in 2013, but showcasing his best play yet despite being surrounded by role players.

But over in OKC, Durant is doing something just as awe-inspiring in his return from a Jones fracture that limited him to 27 games last year. His leg may not have snapped in half, but his immediate return to elite status is starting to look every bit as impressive as PG-13’s.

On the season, KD has only played in 15 games thanks to a hamstring injury that sidelined him for six. But in those 15 games, the Thunder are 10-5, with Durant averaging 27.9 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.1 steals per game on superb .529/.457/.889 shooting splits. OKC has outscored opponents by 13.4 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor as well, the best mark on the team.

Since returning from injury, however, Durant has taken his game to another level — an MVP kind of level that we’re more accustomed to seeing.

https://twitter.com/MikeSGallagher/status/674471356193370113

In his seven games following the hamstring injury, Durant is averaging 27.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 56.3 percent from the floor and 46.7 percent from three-point range. The Thunder have outscored opponents by a whopping 15.5 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor and the Thunder are 3-2 in that span.

This isn’t the best we’ve seen from Kevin Durant in his career. Not long before we got swept up in Curry Fever, Durant was posting 32.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game on .503/.391/.873 shooting splits in his MVP season, leading OKC to a sterling 59-23 record despite Westbrook missing 36 games.

But he’s been a lot more assertive since returning from that hamstring, looking more like the Kevin Durant we all know and love. He’s been aggressive, he’s looked athletic and most of all, he’s looked comfortable again. He’s stepped up his emphasis on facilitating, he’s continued to block shots at a career-best rate and he hasn’t hesitated to attack the basket in the slightest.

Just ask Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat, who watched KD snake through their top-five defense on the way to this thunderous dunk:

Durant had been putting up terrific stat lines before the hamstring injury, including a 43-point outing in just his second game of the season. But he just hadn’t looked as comfortable until recently, and the Thunder are starting to pick up on that momentum.

The Memphis Grizzlies are firsthand witnesses to that, after watching their 9-3 streak since trading for Mario Chalmers come to a grinding halt in a 37-point pounding at the hands of the Thunder.

With everyone still focused on Curry and the Warriors’ showdown with the Indiana Pacers on that same night, Durant quietly had his own Curry-like night of efficiency.

Even against the Sacramento Kings two nights before, when Durant had a “pedestrian” 20 points, 10 rebounds and four assists on 7-of-13 shooting, he came to life at the most crucial time, overcoming a frustrating 10-turnover performance to hit the go-ahead jumper with 23 seconds left. He also drained two free throws to ice the game with 4.4 seconds left.

A home win over the Kings — especially a Kings team that featured DeMarcus Cousins going 5-for-20 — may not seem like much, but considering OKC’s recent collapses on the road against the Atlanta Hawks and then again against the Miami Heat, it was a welcome sight to see Durant take over late and help OKC beat an inferior opponent.

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At this point, it’d be hard to pick anyone but Stephen Curry for MVP and Paul George is probably the best non-Curry candidate so far, having led the Indiana Pacers to a surprising start as well. But since we’re only one-fourth of the way into the season, Kevin Durant’s sneaky return to MVP status won’t stay quiet for long.