With Kevin Durant’s injury putting the Phoenix Suns in danger of missing the playoffs, his future with the team is questionable.
At 36, Durant is still one of the best players in the league. He’s averaging 26.6 points, six rebounds, and 4.2 assists on 52.7 percent shooting and 43 percent from three-point range. Unfortunately, it seems as if Durant’s impact on winning has decreased. The Suns are No. 11 in the Western Conference despite his elite production. If they fail to make the playoffs, it will mark the first time since the 2009 season he has missed the playoffs without being ruled out for most of the season due to injury.
On First Things First, they held a segment about Durant’s most likely destinations if he were to leave the Suns. The Miami Heat were one because they are looking for another star to replace Jimmy Butler and lead their remaining All-Stars, Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo. Nick Wright of Fox Sports shared his displeasure of that Durant move.
“I don’t understand why Kevin Durant would have interest in Miami,” Wright said. “I understand it's Miami, and they have a history, and the weather’s great. Durant is, even by NBA standards, super rich. He can go wherever he wants. He has ‘own your own plane’ money. This team would be drawing dead. Even if they kept Herro and Bam, that team is not winning four rounds.”
MIAMI HEAT LEGEND ALONZO MOURNING HAS OTHERWORLDLY LABEL FOR LEBRON JAMES
A few athletes in sports history have had insane career longevity, but even fewer are impressive enough compared to LeBron James.
James dominated with the Miami Heat from 2010 to 2014, where he won his first championship, and solidified his tenure as the second-best player in franchise history behind Dwyane Wade.
He is still a top 10 player in the league since leaving the Heat more than a decade ago. James is averaging 24.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 8.4 assists on 51 percent shooting and 37.4 percent from three-point range. It’s more rebounds, assists, and higher efficiency than his 2012-2013 MVP season. At 40, James surpassed Karl Malone as the oldest player to win a Player of the Month award.
On the OG’s podcast with Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller, Heat legend Alonzo Mourning praised James for still dominating at this point in his career. Mourning referred to James as an "alien."
“First of all, it was an honor to have been in the front office and witness part of his legacy,” Mourning said. “Now, I got newfound respect. To be 40 years old and to do what he’s doing right now is unheard of. He’s shooting 52 percent right now, and he’s averaging 25 points. The constant jumping and pounding and all of the rigours of the sport. I don’t know how he’s able to do this at 40.”
MIAMI HEAT LEGEND DWYANE WADE REVEALS CLEAR CUT CHOICE FOR LEAGUE MVP
The MVP race between Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is among the most challenging decisions in NBA history.
On one end, Jokic is statistically one of the most impressive players in basketball history. He became the fourth player to record 30 triple-doubles in a season after Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, and Russell Westbrook. He will also be the first player to finish a season in the top three for points, rebounds, and assists.
Alexander is also having a historic season. He became the fourth player to have 65 consecutive games of scoring at least 20 points. He also became the third player to have three straight seasons with 45 30-point games, after Michael Jordan and Chamberlain. What may give him the edge in winning the MVP is the Oklahoma City Thunder’s record. Alexander is on pace to lead the Thunder to the fourth-best record in modern league history.
On the WY Network with Dwyane Wade, he shared his thoughts on who should win the award.
“One thing I have had an issue with in the MVP race is that Jokic has been so amazing, but it’s probably been two times when his team has been in fifth,” Wade said. “And I know that the Western Conference is a very challenging and tough league, but he’s been in fifth and he’s won MVP.”
