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: , , , ,

← Older Comments
Newer Comments →
  • Najee the ripper

    bullsh*T lebron still should not win MVP

  • http://slamonline.com datkid

    There isn’t a real argument agains LBJ for MVP at this point… it’s all personal preference. Dwight should get MVP at some point bc Orlando is NOTHING without him. Personally though? I wouldn’t be too upset at Durant getting an MVP bc he does need one at some point. it’s a shame wade will never get one.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    For you maybe. But it actually didn’t change anything, the home team won as expected.

  • http://slamonline.com datkid

    Red… the east looked tougher at the beginning of the year, but the west has more top tier teams IMO. and OKC has just as much talent as the heat.. and is slightly deeper. in that sense they could be considered to have a better supporting cast.

  • 23

    shutup, you really think lebron has a better supporting cast than parker?????????????!!! smh

  • 23

    lets switch durant and lebron. lebron on the thunder and durant on the heat. thats a valid arguement now considering they both play the same position. i believe the thunder with lebron would be WAY better than durant with the heat.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    even if the Thunder and Heat do have better overall teams (they probably do, but it’s pretty close), the Spurs have Greg Poppovich. And Tony Parker’s production isn’t anywhere near LeBron and Durant’s anyway. (imo) he’s clearly a top 5 MVP candidate, I have him at 3 or 4 or 5 right now, my opinion keeps changing between him, Bean, & Paul

  • LA Huey

    As far as players go, the LeBron has better teammates than Parker. But when you factor in Pop vs Spo. It’s a wash. In fact, I sometimes like to daydream about how tough the Heat would be to guard with Pop pulling the strings.

  • Chuck

    The rumors are that in case the Heat don’t win it all with their 3 supers, LBJ and DWade will work for nothing next year to get Dwight and Dwill to play along side them. Then the King may get his ring, emphasizing “may.” the heat are deeply flawed, and I would be concerned about Wade.

  • http://slamonline Brion

    ^ cosign

  • 23

    i think a duncan/ginobili combo is just as good, arguably better than wade/bosh. ginobili is SEVERELY UNDERATED! One of the best clutch players this league has seen, and he can also play pg very efficently. plays defense too. plus jackson off the bench? plus blair > any heat center. and the coaching doesnt even need to be mentioned. we all know the answer to that

  • http://miamiherald Heatfan198715

    Ill start off by saying Im a heat fan. So you can all say this is me being a homer. But the heat are 10-1 without wade in the line up. Westbrook is the same type of player wade is hes averaging about 25 pts per game and has not missed one. Lebron has proved even with out Wade he is the MVP this year. Hes proved with out wade he can make this team a winner. And if any of you add bosh into this statement I will bring up harden who averages about what bosh does. I want to see how well durant can play and his team without westbrooke for me to say he is the MVP.

  • Jerome

    Kevin Love … Kevin Love … Kevin Love … Kevin Love … Kevin Love … K

  • -Mas-

    So what your trying to say is that the Spurs are getting out of the first round this year?

  • LA Huey

    23. Even without factoring in health, Wade/Bosh is better than easily better than Manu/Duncan (and I’m a fan of those two cats).

  • rr

    I don’t beleive how you guys are so eager to award the MVP to Lebron James. All Lebron have to do is show up in a couple of games and you
    are ready to give him the award. There are players that plays far better every night than this guy, but you refuse to give them their props,play awesome games every night but get little credit from you guys. But if Lebron 34 pts you guys act as if he scored 81 points or more. Give me a break, We can clearly see you are not dealing fair, You are in love with Lebron James and can not see the greatness in the other players.
    You are stuck on Lebron James. Lebron James should be in 3rd place,
    not 1st or 2nd place. The race should be between Kobe and Kevin, they
    are the best by far!

  • Rainman

    LeBron james is the better player, he’s the best overall player in the L. And if the MVP is gonna be given out based on a head to head matchup, then its gnna be given to LeBron most times than not. (See his late season matchups with Kobe in years 09 and 10). But we might as well name the award Most Valuable Performance in that case. Cuz the MVP has been Durant all year round, one head to head matchup doesnt change that for me.Dont get me wrong, LeBron killed it last night(he always kills it during the season anyways)but LeBron’s team is just coming off a skid of being unable to win on the road, they’re the best team in the LEAGUE at home and they win while AT HOME. Whoop dee doo. Prove to me u’re a better than medicore road team first, then we can talk.

  • http://ww.realgm.com Nate James

    Kevins Love’s numbers mean nothing? Kid should atleast get most improved. sucls that he makes it look easy. But he should be mentioned. cause 10-15 years ago people woulda sh!!t bricks over his performence. Or if he was on a different team.

  • http://jsklff.com Jukai

    Overreaction post is overreacting.

  • tomtom

    Cosign fizzbucket, the last 3 weeks on slam seem to have been written by the LBJ PR team…that being said I think he is the mvp, but Slam needs to be more of a news outfit than a fansite, its quite unprofessional.

  • LA Huey

    I think the Heat proved their road prowess over the course of January and February. Would it be better if they spread their losses out over the season like OKC?

  • Nate

    How about the other FOUR games this year? Garbage article

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    Huey, to the masses yes.

  • Lloyd

    I think there’s a key factor being missed here. The Thunder are a TEAM. They play TEAM defense. They switch, they help, and are very strong in the middle due to their shot blockers. The Heat play alright team defense behind Lebron, Battier, and Wade, but their defense stems from the outside guys. Two different defensive systems, and the Heat’s one just shows off Lebron’s defensive skills more potently than the Thunder’s does Durant (mostly Ibaka and some Perk). We can’t just give the MVP to Lebron because of the apparent defensive edge that Lebron has.

  • LA Huey

    Lloyd, you don’t know what you’re talking about. No offense.

  • Da-Meat-Hook

    Lloyd, there is nothing “apparent” about Lebron’s defensive edge. If your argument is that the defensive system hinders Durant’s defensive achievements, and arguement can be made that Miami’s offense hinders Lebron’s scoring. After all, Durant has taken in excess of 150 more shot attempts at a lower FG% and does not have the same responsibilites as a facilitator (Lebron +3apg) yet only averages 1 more point per game?

  • Lloyd

    How? Ibaka is the defensive stale to the Thunder. Lebron has to be the defensive leader for the Heat. Durant doesn’t have to shoulder that load. It’s like comparing a shooter to a slasher…

  • Da-Meat-Hook

    I’m not taking anything away from Lebron offensively. How he’s been playing this year is ridiculous. I just think that you can’t give him MVP honors off of a defensive edge, like a lot of posters are saying on here, because his skills are showcased in his defensive system.

  • Lloyd

    That last comment was me, not meat hook.

  • http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/miamiheat/post/_/id/13215/charting-the-heat-five-problems-for-miami Allenp

    People are crazy. That’s all I have to contribute.

  • http://slamonline.com The Philosopher

    LONG… LIVE… THE KING.

  • http://slamonline.com datkid

    lloyd your tripping fam. KD has Nowhere near the defensive versatility Lebron does. he could develop it, but it’s not their yet, which is why the thunder don’t give him the opportunity to “showcase” his skills… if they did he’d get lit up(there’s a reason why you’ve never seen him guard pau gasol) and if a player is SUPERIOR on one side of the ball, and more efficient/arguably better on another then he is ABSOLUTELY better for his team and therefore more MVP worthy. period.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    The Heat play the 2nd or 3rd best team defense in the league behind Philadelphia and Boston. Having a strong team defense is how a team without a defensive anchor in the paint can be one of the best defenses in the league. This should be common sense. The Heat’s defense is so dominant because they are flexible, they are uber athletic, they recover at all 5 positions, and they help at all 5 positions. Basically the Heat are a great defense because of their system and how they play as a team. LeBron being the best overall defender, and probably Wade being the best help defender (and possibly the worst one on one defender the majority of the time) unless you prefer what Turiaf provides.

  • Zeke

    typo alert. 10 Assists, 7 assists

  • IamYOU

    Scalabrine or Luke Walton for MVP race! But seriously it’s LeBron’s award we’re talking about right?

  • Mike

    They’re gonna hand out two MVPs this year because the heat and thunder wouldn’t be shit without those two

  • LA Huey

    So because Durant has the luxury of a great help defender in Ibaka protecting the rim, KD’s forced to funnel his man towards the rim? Shouldn’t having an eraser like Ibaka have the opposite effect? Whenever I play ball, if I have shot blocker in the paint, I’ll start getting intimate with the guy I’m guarding because I know that I have great help if he gets by me.
    In fact, after Serge slap his ish against the glass, Wade was definitely aware of Ibaka’s presence in the lane and his actions when he drove reflected that.

  • http://slamonline.com LakeShow

    What nbk? Bulls have the #1 team defense. #2 is a toss up depending on who is on their game more. Philly should be #2, with Heat following at #3 and Celtics #4 with Lakers #5.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    Yes Huey you are exactly right. This lloyd person doesn’t know at all what they are talking about.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    Lakeshow talking about how the team plays as a unit. Not who has the best overall defenders and system. Was talking strictly team (help) defense.

  • Lloyd

    See this is what I’m kind of getting at. You can’t determine an MVP based on just on-paper advantages. Dwight would then be strongly considered rather than this just being a two-man race, and arguably he’s got the most impact on the success of his team. There’s no definitive criteria for MVP. I think the argument is pretty redundant because at the end of the day, it’s a matter of preference because the top runners are so close, and there are different factors at play on any given team (i.e. we’ve seen Lebron succeed without Wade, but never had the chance to see Durant without Westbrook). I personally really like KD as a player and he seems to be a real stand up guy. I’m really rooting for the kid.

  • http://nba.com GP23

    It’s funny, because if KD wins the MVP award, then LeBron will probably win the DPOY. However, you could argue Bron should win both. And yes, LeBron is a better defensive player than Durant.

  • http://slamonline.com LakeShow

    I still think the Bulls are #1. Maybe i’m not understanding what your speaking about in your terms of help defense. No one would have to help more to have an elite defensive squad with Boozer on it? lol. Sorry couldn’t resist going at the Booz.

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    Looks like people are still overrating MIA’s defense. They don’t belong in the same convo as CHI’s, BOS’s and at times PHI’s defense, sorry.

  • LA Huey

    Dwight removed himself from the MVP race with his behavior this season. Basically threw his teammates under the bus and now his coach. He’s be right up there with KD but, fair or not, nobody is going to vote someone who acts like that MVP.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    JTaylor why do you think Miami’s defense is overrated? Because of some regular season games?

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    Lakeshow, Boozer is not a bad defender. Especially in the regular season. Despite popular perception. He has bad outings against really good players, but he isn’t a bad defender. And Thibs system (the shots they force other teams into) and their ability to rebound are more of a reason they are the best defense in the league then what they do for each other in terms of helping. They just don’t give up second chance points, and force teams into bad shots by having a good individual defender at every single position.

  • LA Huey

    nbk, Boozer is an subpar individual defender and awful at rotating on defense.

  • http://slamonline.com LakeShow

    Fair, I was viewing “team defense” a little different. The Celtics 2 or 3 years ago played the best team defense I have seen in recent years. They made defense so fun to watch.

  • lakernation

    Who cares about the MVP race, it doesnt win you a championship…. Individual awards doesnt mean anything to me, it just adds to the players EGO. I get it Lebron James has been the best player in the NBA for years now with 0 rings. KD has made the OKC thunder a household name because they were a joke 3 years ago. Lets just give it to KD and call it a season. I’m tired of this conversation.

← Older Comments
Newer Comments →
Advertisement