Thursday, April 5th, 2012 at 9:00 am  |  147 responses

LeBron James Won the MVP Battle Over Kevin Durant


by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni

The 2012 NBA MVP debate was more or less settled last night in Miami.

The two leading candidates, LeBron James and Kevin Durant, showed up to make their respective cases, in what had suddenly turned into a tight race for the game’s highest individual honor.

After last night, you’d be hard-pressed to give the award to anyone but LBJ this season.

James led the Miami Heat to a tough, physical win over the visiting OKC Thunder, posting a typically absurd line: 34 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds. LeBron also played tremendous defense on numerous players (including Durant, who despite his own solid performance, coughed up the rock 9 times) , and nailed several big shots down the stretch to ensure the victory.

The AP has the postgame quotes:

“Every night I go out on the court, I try to play like the MVP for our team,” James told the reporters surrounding his locker after the game. “I’ve always said that. … It doesn’t matter to me. For us, we got better tonight as a team. And I was the MVP for our team and just trying to lead those guys, lead us to a victory. That’s what it’s all about.”

“I think he’s the best two-way player in this league,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He does it in a night-in, night-out basis and he does it in a way where most teams would not ask a player to shoulder that type of responsibility. But the fact remains: He must play at an MVP level at both ends of the court for us. We’ve talked about him playing like a defensive player of the year, to defend all five positions, while at the same time playing four positions offensively.”

Last night’s Heat/Thunder matchup was of the more relentlessly competitive games of the season.

One gets the feeling that most NBA fans wouldn’t mind seeing these two squads meet again in June, where LeBron James and Kevin Durant would battle for an even more important MVP award.

  • Add a Comment
  • Share
  • RSS

Tags: , , , ,

Newer Comments →
  • ALD

    what is a mvp???? if its the most valuable player, than it is Dwight.

  • bike

    Well Lebron haters, what now? If the last game made KD MVP, by your logic this game LBJ MVP. How can a more or less one way player be MVP over the guy who is better this season on both ends?

  • Justin G.

    Good Lord, do we have to do this again? Fifth time in a week and the same old people will come out with the same old arguments. Now, I’m for Lebron winning it this year but why is this one game more of a statement for the award than last week’s game? Makes no sense to me. The only reason it may have been “settled” is because it comes off the heals of a 41 point performance and apparently (at least according to many SLAM posters) it’s what have you done for me lately

  • http://www.streetbasket.lv Krisjanis

    @bike by your logic Kobe’s the MVP, because he won the last game against heat, right?

  • bike

    Did you read my comment? Your response made no sense.

  • Justin G.

    I don’t think Krisjanis knows what was written in here after last week’s game to make a nonsensical comment like that

  • ALD

    they need to change this awrd to best player of the year instead of most valuable player.. Durant and lebron might not be the most valuable to that team.

  • bike

    @JustinG: I figured that.

  • IAMORANGE4EVER

    Marcel is stirring the pot good today. I love to do that too. :)

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    One game doesn’t make him the MVP, the same way KD’s great game in OKC didn’t make him the MVP.

  • abaci

    To make a case for a season award after one game is ridiculous. Im a much bigger fan of KD than Lebron. That being said i think Lebron is the MVP this year. The Thunder have improved enough to be comparable with the Heat as a team. Bron just does more things than KD.

  • RunNGun

    One game overreaction.

  • bike

    I think that’s the point. After one game, Durant was suddenly the MVP. Looking at an entire season and deciding after one game that Durant had surpassed Lebron was silly, so by that very same logic they’d have to say the same about Lebron now. It’s nonesense.

  • http://www.twitter.com/_dfrance DFrance21

    Yeah I think Lebron has been the MVP all season, not just after this game. And maybe they should change the name of the award so people can stop with the logic that the MVP= “The players whose team would suck the most if they left.”

  • Rasheedionics

    Lebron is a better all around player than KD. No doubt about it. Whether that makes him MVP is debatable. Lebron got considerably better supporting cast which allows him more freedom to play the game the way he’s comfortable playing.

  • Jazzy

    I wonder why ppl hate LeBron so much? What have he possibly done, besides “taking his talents to south beach”. Really, explain…..

  • http://slamonline.com Brad Long

    Kobe did put in his third dagger in a row last night. And he’s taking a Mike Brown(GRIMACE!!!) coached team to the playoffs. I thought that automatically qualified you for the MVP? Just in Cleveland? Ok.

  • Old Long Johnson

    KD is still the MVP, a game where the officials helped the heat win doesnt count.

  • Seb

    Just to be annoying, LeBron actually posted a stat line of 10 assists and 7 rebounds, not the other way around.

  • ALD

    @dfrance21 but isnt that what the most valuable player means?

  • arjae

    @ Brad Long…Bron took a Mike Brown team to the best record in the L. Also, his second best play was Anderson V. Hardly gasol, or bynum…

    but about the comments: I wonder how Wade feels about LeBron calling himself the mvp of the team…hmm

  • Respect

    I wish the mvp would just always go to the best player of the year. This year thats LeBron.

  • Kyle

    One game does not make him MVP. Durant scoring wise and shooting wise even played better last night than lebron did in the last meeting vs miami before last night. If lebron throws together another horrible stretch like he did before the 41 pt game the other night then this would be even more of a joke. Durants stayed very consistant during the season, although he has had some turnover issues trying to distribute more.

  • http://slamonline.com Brad Long

    @arjae:I thought Mo Williams was his second best player? Wasn’t he an All-Star that year?

  • bike

    Mo Williams <<< Pau. Mo Williams<<<Bynum.

  • http://www.twitter.com/_dfrance dfrance21

    @ALD If you’re taking it in the extreme literal sense then yes, but what about leading your team to one of the best records in the league while posting incredible individual stats? The Wizards would have no wins without John Wall, does that make him the MVP?

  • http://www.slamonline.com Dagger

    Brad Long: are you seriously comparing the Lakers’ secondary players to what Lebron had to work with at any point during his stay in Cleveland? Don’t quit your day job buddy.

  • fizzbucket

    What’s up with this subjective piece being the top story in the News & Rumors section? Really? If you want to make cases for MVP, write a column or something. One game doesn’t decide the MVP race, that was apparent after the two played in OKC, and it’s still obvious.

  • http://www.reverbnation.com/tray24 T-Ray

    Let ESPN tell it and they are just as fickled as anyone else. After the game in OKC they were ready to crown KD as the MVP. I turn on the tv this morning and they’re raving about how of a complete player LeBron is and that he’s the MVP. The real question is why the hell do I continue to watch EPSN and their “experts”?! It’s either that or Looney Tunes and I’m leaning towards Looney Tunes.

  • ALD

    @dfrance the mvp has to be given to a team in the playoff race at least…… But most valuable player should be dwight howard. Even with al the bs he has caused, his numbers are crazy with the fact that their one of the best in the lg…. Durant cnt be the mvp when westbrook’s play dictates their record against tough teams. Lebron’s only the favorite because wade has been injured most of the season.

  • http://nonstopsports1.blogspot.com/ WeKnowSports

    See: Miami vs OKC on 03/25. How did this one game settle anything?

  • shutup

    Tony Parker put in work last night and now the Spurs are riding a 9 game winning streak. Both the Thunder and Miami have better overall teams than the Spurs. Just saying….

  • http://slamonline.com Brad Long

    Yeah, but the East had teams that my AAU team could’ve beat them. J/K. The East did suck then, though. All I’m saying is that Kobe is taking a team that traded it’s third best player to Dallas for nothing, hired one of the worst head coaches in the last decade, and has had constant nagging trade rumors disrupting team chemistry all season, to the playoffs with a first round home court advantage a possibility. That’s pretty soild not to be in the MVP discussion if you ask me. He leads the league in scoring, and has also DEMANDED that the team go to the teams budding super star center in certain clutch situations. Oh yeah, he also is still the most feared person on the face of the planet when the ball is in his hands and the game is on the line.

  • http://www.google.com/news BETCATS

    This is idiotic. One game means nothing. OKC is in the harder conference, still has more wins, and Durant doesnt pass up final shots.

  • Sheed

    LeBron’s performance last night was indicative of how he’s been playing all season. I can’t imagine anyone else being MVP (Kobe is a close second, let’s see how the rest of the season plays out)

  • http://www.borntocompete.com Money$hot

    The jury is still out, still close race between Lebron and KD

  • JUNKIE

    mvp should be measured by how well the team would perform without them. If kd and lebron didn’t play, their teams would still be decent on their own. Instead we should be looking at players like dwight who if he didn’t play his team loses all competitiveness. Also a player like chris paul should be considered as well.

  • robb

    What bike said is true. Lebron plays great on both ends, that makes him more valuable than Durant.

  • http://nba.com GP23

    So I guess Tony Parker is out of the picture. I’m not saying Parker should win it, but still, he should be in the convo.

  • LA Huey

    “Every night I go out on the court, I try to play like the MVP for our team” So is that why he laid an egg the past two Sundays? Because they were afternoon games?

  • Ldub

    Unfortunately the MVP award typically goes to the best player on the best team. A player that makes all of his teammates better. I enjoy watching both these cats do their thing night in and night out, however if youre gonna talk about the latter (making their teammates better) id have to say LBJ. Damn near walking trip dub. And if not that, then he at least is a 25, 8 and 8. And then he plays better D than KD. However the Bulls have a better record than the Heat in the east. And OKC has the best record in the west. You can argue that KD is more clutch in the 4th, and he has come up with bigger wins throughout the season. Either way it goes, Im a LBJ and KD fan, so to see either one of these guys get that MVP would be fine with me. And whomever said it was DWIGHT deserves to be slapped. SMH

  • http://nba.com GP23

    Crazy to think but… If Phoenix get that 8th spot in the west, Steve Nash could potentially be the MVP (unlikely, as I think 2 is enough for him already). It’s been remarkable what he’s done lately to keep the Suns from slipping away. Dude is carrying them at the moment. Also leading the league in assists with a nice 11.2 a game.

  • Randy Brown

    D should count, but is often ignored, Lebron for MVP

  • LA Huey

    Russbrook and KD’s alley-oop was nicely done. LBJ got caught turning his head for just a moment…

  • http://www.nba.com JB

    KD for MVP.

  • Chuck

    Great logic. One game and it’s settled. After the last game it was settled in KD’s favor. If KD outplays LBJ in the next game, it will be resettled. After the Heat won a series in last year’s playoffs, it was settled because the Heat had LBJ, but something happened to the MVP on the way to the championship. Let’s see the King play big in the finals, and we can crown him, but until then I think we should wait. Silly article.

  • http://Yahoo SenecaMaytubby

    Lebron Is To Cold For KD,Lol.I Mean Look @ His Stats,We Can Also Look @ 2K12.He Is 99 Overall!!!!!Mvp Is His No Question’s Asked.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    Last night didn’t change anything.

  • http://slamonline.com LakeShow

    Yes it did.

  • http://www.nba.com Red

    @betcats how the hell is okc in the harder conference?! Lmao no way and okc has the better supporting cast.

Newer Comments →
Advertisement