3 reasons why Kevin Durant is the favorite to win NBA MVP this season

#2 Kevin Durant must build on his chemistry with James Harden and Kyrie Irving

The Brooklyn Nets' Big 3 of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving

The Brooklyn Nets, with Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving on the floor at the same time, scored a whopping 119.6 Offensive Rating. It is a figure that is not just good. It is ridiculously good. Despite the result being only a sample size of what they can do, there is optimism that those numbers will be even better once they get to share more time on the floor.

In 8 games with Irving and Harden, KD normed 28.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists. Harden has vowed to be more of a facilitator and averaged 11.9 assists in those said games. With those two on the floor, Durant would get the kind of looks he only enjoyed during his time with the Golden State Warriors.

He could easily be the best player on a potentially great team. If this trio is spared from injury woes, the best record in the league is almost guaranteed. In many cases, the MVP will come from the best regular-season team. The mantle of the best player in the world could officially be his and bag the MVP crown along the way.

#1 KD should affirm his status as the unquestioned leader of the Brooklyn Nets

Kevin Durant in action against Spain in the Tokyo Olympics.

The Nets rolled the dice with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, but it never felt like Brooklyn is Irving’s team. The leadership did not change hands even when the Nets brought in James Harden. The last time Durant really had a team to call his own in the Oklahoma Thunder, he won an MVP and was a perennial contender.

In the playoff series against Milwaukee, the Bucks threw different looks and stout defenders at Durant like PJ Tucker and Jrue Holiday. KD could have succumbed to the pressure or fatigue and packed it in. But he played an insane amount of minutes to push a decimated Nets team almost past the eventual champions. These are the kind of games that teammates will recognize as true leadership.

Durant has the opportunity to take this Nets team by the scruff of its neck. More than just being an emotional leader, KD has the eye-popping skills and incredible will to win that teammates will see. The leader of potentially the best team in the NBA could sway voters to his side when the MVP ballots are handed out.

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