Kevin Durant makes his pick for NBA MVP

Kevin Durant is a perennial NBA MVP candidate when healthy but the Nets superstar has made up his mind on who should win the award this year. 

Had Kevin Durant been healthy for the entire season with the Brooklyn Nets, there’s a good chance that he would once again find himself in the NBA MVP discussion given the numbers he put up. Durant finished the regular season averaging 29.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 0.9 blocks and 0.9 steals per game on over 51 percent shooting.

Unfortunately, Durant was limited to playing just 55 games in the 2021-22 regular season, which in itself effectively eliminated him from MVP consideration. So who should the award be going to this year?

Even if he’s not a viable candidate because of the 55 games played, Durant still had an opinion on who should be adding more hardware to their trophy case after this season. His pick: Philadelphia 76ers star big and MVP favorite, Joel Embiid.

Kevin Durant would pick Joel Embiid as NBA MVP

Prior to the Nets’ matchup at Barclays Center against the Cavs in the NBA Play-In Tournament, Durant was asked for his pick and gushed over what Embiid accomplished this season, per ESPN.

“If I had to choose, I would go Joel Embiid,” Durant said. “He led the league in scoring, double-doubles, his team won 50 games this year. Numbers were incredible. It’s a great year.

“But you can just close your eyes and just pick any one of the guys out of the top six or seven, and you can have a good MVP this year. That shows how great our league is right now and how talented our league is from top to bottom, but I would go with Embiid if I had to choose.”

There’s no denying the statistical performance that Embiid put forth this season. The Sixers big man finished the regular season averaging 30.6 points (making him the league’s scoring champion), 11.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 49 percent from the field and over 37 percent from 3-point range. Not too shabby.

Most people would tend to agree with Durant’s assessment, as well.

Having said all of that, it’d be a safe assumption to say that KD would much rather have a Nets playoff run at a title than another NBA MVP trophy. And after his team was victorious against Cleveland on Tuesday night, they’re in the field as the No. 7 seed looking to make that run.