USA TODAY Sports' Sam Amick examines the top NBA story lines for the week.
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) and Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) will square off Wednesday in a battle of the top-two MVP candidates.(Photo: Mark D. Smith, USA TODAY Sports)
Story Highlights- LeBron James says Durant's recent performances are 'outstanding'
- Durant has 11 straight 30-point games
- James' skill set has led to four MVP awards
MIAMI Of all the places one might expect to find the headquarters of the Kevin Durant fan club, 601 Biscayne Blvd. is way down the list.
The American Airlines Arena is LeBron James' domain, home to the Miami Heat's four-time MVP who will have a timely chance to defend his individual crown Wednesday when the Oklahoma City Thunder and their MVP frontunner come to town. But on the eve of this season's best superstar showdown yet, James sounded more like Durant's agent than his arch nemesis.
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He lauded Durant's recent streak, the out-of-his-mind January in which he averaged 36.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game. He marveled at the development of Durant's game, this evolution in which the 25-year-old has improved so drastically in all the areas like playmaking and defense that used to separate him and James. From James on down, apparently, the basketball world is in awe.
"What he's been doing of late is outstanding; it's great," said James, the fellow member of the gold-medal winning Team USA squad from 2012 who got the best of Durant & Co. in the 2012 Finals. "He's in a groove. And when you're in a zone like he's in, it (doesn't) matter how much film you watch (as an opponent), you just try to make it tough on him. He's going to make shots. He's going to make contested shots when you're playing great defense on him.
"Individually, he can't be stopped by any one on one player. There's nobody that can guard him one on oneEven in his short career, he's one of the greatest scorers in our game."
No matter who ultimately wins the MVP award (and don't forget about the Indiana Pacers' Paul George), this race at the top between Durant and James is a welcome surprise after the past two seasons. Durant was unquestionably the second best player in the game during that time, but James' one-of-a-kind skillset made him the runaway winner. No one, not even the willowy and wondrous Durant, could touch the self-described King.
But then a remarkable thing happened: having seemingly hit his personal ceiling (or at least neared it), Durant, who has never been an MVP, got better yet again. All those areas that used to create so much separation between him and James improved significantly. And as if often the case, it happened partly because of the circumstances that surrounded him.
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The absence of teammate Russell Westbrook since Dec. 25 (knee) created a do-or-die element to their season, and the Thunder have certainly opted for the former. They have won 13 of 18 games without their All-Star point guard, all while showcasing Durant's incredible development along the way.
"Obviously you see the video game numbers he's putting up, but at the heart of it he's a fierce, fierce competitor," said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, whose 32-12 team is just 2 1/2 games behind the Pacers for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. "What he's doing right now is notable because they could've come up with a lot of excuses why they couldn't compete in that Western Conference at the level they are. He has raised his game, and it has pulled their team right along with him."
Added James: "Don't get it twisted thinking that he hasn't been a great all-around player (in the past). As you get playing more and more games, get more and more comfortable in this league. You start to expand your game. It's the same if you ask (the question), 'How has Paul George's all-around game gotten better?' He's just more comfortable. He's a better player, and you have more and more games and you start to become better. And when you have talent, and you work at that talent, things become second nature for you to go out and play. So KD rebounding, and making plays for his teammates is something he's always been able to do, he's just getting more comfortable doing it."
George said he sees his MVP candidacy in simple terms: should his Pacers finish the regular season with the best record, then his personal pitch will be impossible to ignore. But like James, he has certainly taken notice of what Durant has done of late.
"He's got to be the best scorer in this league," George said recently. "You talk about putting up 40 points a night, shooting 50-plus percent from the field, that's on a different level. His ability to put the ball in the basket, and his array of shots that he can make, makes him probably the best offensive player in this league (and) that we've seen in a while since Kobe (Bryant)."
Durant declined a request from USA TODAY Sports to comment, which was just fine since James did a fine job speaking for him. And while James' candid admiration of Durant shouldn't be seen as a concession speech, he made it clear that he won't be changing anything about his game in order to chase a fifth Maurice Podoloff trophy.
"I've never changed my game (to win an MVP)," said James, who would tie Michael Jordan and Bill Russell if he won a fifth MVP and come within one of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's league-record six. "I am who I am. I score, I rebound. I pass. I defend. If that results in me having individual awards, then so be it. If not, then it (doesn't) really matter to me.
"I love being the MVP of our team. If it results in me being the MVP of the league, for your peers it's a great achievement. He's a great guy to compete against man. I wish I could play against him every night, because he just brings that competitive nature out of you."
PHOTOS: NBA MVP rankings
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